Accent on Jeep and Fiat
Stellantis’ ‘Smart Car’ platform is going to bring us a lot of interesting, affordable electric and non-electric cars. The new Citroën C3 is not only joined by the C3 Aircross and the Opel Frontera, but also by three Fiats and a Jeep.
We knew from day one that Stellantis’ Smart Car platform will produce a lot of new models. Stellantis makes no secret of the fact that maximum use of existing parts is one of the key points of the strategy, and will therefore do everything to spread this new, deliberately kept simple basis over as many brands and models as possible. Moreover, we secretly knew that Fiat, among others, will reap the benefits of this platform, for example for the new Panda. In a new annual presentation, Stellantis will once again list the new models on this basis, and we would of course be happy to take a look.
After Citroën (C3 and C3 Aircross) and Opel (Frontera), the emphasis of the Smart Cars lies with Fiat for the time being. This brings not only the Panda on this basis, but two more models on this basis. The third of these is particularly interesting. While the Panda is a C3-like car and the second model is undoubtedly a derivative of the C3 Aircross and Frontera, we are still largely in the dark about the third. Please note that this concerns three models for the European market. A Fiat on a Smart Car basis will also be released for South America, probably an affordable pick-up.
Finally (for now) there is Jeep. That once promised ‘an EV for less than 25,000 dollars’. That not only smacks of a Jeep on a Smart Car basis, but also of the first car on this platform that will make the crossing to the US. It looks like this will be the new Renegade, which if all this goes ahead will be positioned below the Avenger that is not available in the US.
The Smart Car platform is primarily intended for electric powertrains, good for a maximum of 400 kilometers of range and equipped with a relatively easy-to-produce, rectangular battery. This is an important distinction with the more complex and expensive e-CMP platform, in which the battery is integrated into segments in the car. Petrol engines are also possible on the Smart Car base, and therefore also appear in the models mentioned. In addition to a low price and a lot of choice in terms of drive, space seems to be a spearhead for the SUV-like models on the Smart Car basis. For example, the Citroën C3 Aircross and Opel Frontera will soon be available as a seven-seater, which, apart from the Dacia Jogger, is unique in this segment.
More Jeep news
Jeep is not only coming with the (presumably) new Renegade, but has much more news in store. For example, it is working on a new Compass, which cannot hurt given the year of birth of the current one (2016). The D-segment, where Jeep had no products at all until recently, is also becoming busy. The sleek, electric Wagoneer S and sturdy, off-road Recon have already been presented, but in addition to these outspoken models, there will also be a more ‘mainstream’ model in this globally important intermediate segment.
– Thanks for information from Autoweek.nl