#5YearPlan

The first part of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles’ five-year product plan has emerged at the automaker’s Balocco proving grounds near Turin, Italy, where company brass detailed the near future of four key brands: Jeep, Ram, Alfa Romeo, and Maserati.

Yes, no mention of Chrysler, Dodge, or Fiat. They’ll get to that later this morning (is there a bell tolling for one or more of those brands, at least in America? Stay tuned…)

What we know at this point is that the company has no plans to back away from its goal of dominating the globe with the Jeep brand. There’s more SUVs coming — plenty of them, and hybrids, too. For North American truck buyers, a dedicated off-road variant of its new Ram 1500 is assured, giving the Ford F-150 Raptor a run for its money. FCA would prefer accepting your cash in that segment.

Though Fiat Chrysler Automobiles CEO Sergio Marchionne’s five-year plan announced this week may be ambitious, analysts are raising questions about how the plan will be funded — and how much will be needed — if it is to be successful, let alone live up to Marchionne’s vision.

China’s FAW, despite its name (First Automobile Works) only second largest manufacturer in China, joint venture partner of Volkswagen and Toyota, and owner of a large array of brands, including the Hongqi, has filed its contribution to the 12th Five-Year Plan (pretty much the only holdover from the olden days) with China’s State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission (SASAC). The numbers, brought to us by CapitalVue, are both audacious and timorous.

Let's carry out the five year plan in 4 years! Picture courtesy nhikmetran at flickr.com

Today is the day. Today, Sergio Marchionne will present his 5 year plan for Fiat. 5 year plans are usually reserved for a reunion of unreformed communist party elders. But Fiat respects traditional values.

In his opening remarks, Marchionne took a shot at the mongers of gloom and doom. He had two words for analyst reports that dissed Chrysler’s operating profits: “Boulevard press.” This is Euro-slang for tabloids, or the business section of the National Enquirer.

“As we all know,” said Sergio, “in business it is ultimately only facts that prevail.”

Then, the facts were presented.