By Chester Dawson
Criticized for lacking efficient vehicles in its lineup, Fiat
Chrysler Automobiles NV has taken steps to introduce some of the
industry's most fuel-efficient cars. The problem is few of them are
for sale or even being built.
The centerpiece of Fiat Chrysler's efforts is the new
84-miles-per-gallon hybrid gas-electric Pacifica minivan. But for
many potential customers, the vehicle has been as hard to find as
the flying pigs, blue moons and two-headed dogs featured in ads for
the industry's first hybrid minivan.
The auto maker, which created the minivan segment in the 1980s,
has suspended production of Pacifica hybrids in recent weeks amid a
planned recall of the vehicle due to technical glitches, people
familiar with the matter said. Fiat Chrysler hasn't disclosed the
suspension publicly.
The delay has irked buyers, who have high hopes for the
well-regarded vehicle. Among them is Google's parent company -- the
single biggest buyer so far -- whose engineers use it to test
self-driving systems.
The flawed product rollout is a "black eye," said Bill Bernard,
general manager of Chrysler dealership in Fredonia, N.Y. "Chrysler
does a very poor job of launching new products."
The setback comes as the company stockpiles the "EcoDiesel"
versions of its 2017 Ram pickup trucks and Jeep Grand Cherokee SUVs
after the government alleged the company used illegal emissions
software, a move that has delayed regulatory certification by
months.
The glitches cast doubt on the company's ability to boost its
fuel-economy ranking, the second worse after Porsche among global
auto makers. It also raises questions about its readiness to meet
increasingly stringent emissions standards hitting the American
auto industry in coming years.
Fiat Chrysler sees the issues as temporary setbacks, and
officials say Pacifica hybrid production will resume in time to
meet outstanding orders. The EcoDiesels, it says, will be certified
by regulators once their concerns are addressed.
The company's lineup now emphasizes horsepower over green as it
boosts production of higher profit margin SUVs and pickup trucks.
It says current consumer demand for fully electric vehicles doesn't
now warrant greater production and marketing of such autos.
Prior to releasing Ecodiesels and the hybrid minivan, the auto
maker's most visible fuel-efficiency play was the Fiat 500e.
However, the pricey city car is available in only two states and
the company loses money on each sale.
The hybrid Pacifica, built in Windsor, Ontario, made its debut
earlier this year but has been plagued by launch delays, including
the major recall this month for a defect that could potentially
shut down engines on the nearly 2,000 models sold so far.
"The most information I can get is that it is being audited for
safety," said David Pittman of Silver Spring, Md., who ordered a
hybrid Pacifica in April and is waiting for it to be delivered.
The growing backlog of such buyers could weigh on the company's
reputation and bottom line. Fiat Chrysler has handed out $500
pre-paid credit cards or high-speed electric chargers to
compensate. Some of its dealers have also lent vehicles to owners
who have received the car, as they await the recall to be
fixed.
Fiat Chrysler hasn't said when the flaw would be fixed or when
production would resume. In a letter to dealers, viewed by The Wall
Street Journal, Fiat Chrysler said a sudden loss of power from
defective inverter diodes "could cause a crash without a warning."
A recall isn't expected to begin, however, until the third
quarter.
"It's been radio silence," said Chris Filkins, 40 years old, who
lives outside of Buffalo, N.Y. and awaits a Pacifica hybrid he
ordered in March. "If you have a lease coming due or your car is
about to die, I wouldn't put your eggs in this basket."
Among those taking notice was Alphabet Inc.'s Google car team,
which is now named Waymo. The Pacifica hybrid is spacious and runs
on a high-powered battery with a backup gasoline engine if juice
runs out -- a combination Google sees as ideal for
autonomous-vehicle testing.
The Silicon Valley tech giant has about 100 hybrid Pacificas in
its fleet and has ordered 500 more. Neither Waymo or Fiat Chrysler
would say if any of those additional vehicles have been
delivered.
Dealers are also in a jam.
"I need about 20 of them," said Brad Davis, vice president of
Glenn E. Thomas Dodge Chrysler Jeep near Long Beach, Calif. "We
sold the only four we received the day they arrived," he said. The
dealership said has a waiting list of more than 30 prospects for
the van.
The hybrid problem follows Fiat Chrysler's delayed push into
diesels, a technology that is more efficient than gasoline but
under scrutiny following Volkswagen AG's emissions-cheating scandal
in 2015.
The Environmental Protection Agency alleges that Fiat Chrysler
may have sought to undermine emissions tests on its diesel versions
of the Ram pickup and Jeep Grand Cherokee. The Justice Department
sued the auto maker in May for knowingly using software that
allowed cheating on such tests. The company denies the
allegation.
Write to Chester Dawson at chester.dawson@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
June 24, 2017 08:14 ET (12:14 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2017 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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