First Look: These Two New Fiat CUVs Could Save Chrysler

Fiat revealed two new crossovers – and they could determine the long-term fate of the Chrysler brand which soon will get its own versions of the new Grizzly and Grizzly Fastback models. Currently the U.S. automakers is struggling with only one model in its line-up. More from Headlight.News.

Fiat is about to add two significant new models to its line-up as part of parent Stellantis’s Fastlane 2030 turnaround program. But the new Grizzly and Grizzly Fastback models could prove just as important to another one of the Euro-American automaker’s brands.

The two SUVs will appear in slightly revised form as the Chrysler Arrow and Arrow Cross models for the 2028 model year, company officials revealed last month during the Stellantis Investors Day conference.

All told, the 14 Stellantis brands will debut at least 60 new products by the end of the decade. But the Grizzly/Arrow models will be especially important. Fiat is one of the four “core” brands under the parent company’s new strategy. Chrysler will serve as a regional brand but one whose long-term fate will depend upon expanding its meager line-up to rebuild marginal sales.

What’s a Grizzly?

The two new Fiat models share the same new unibody platform that will eventually underpin a large array of vehicles sold through most Stellantis brands.

Fiat will offer both Grizzly and Grizzly Fastback in key markets such as Europe, the Middle East and Latin America. It’s unclear if versions might also appear in the U.S. to help prop the brand up. While it may be the number one brand in Latin America it has long struggled to gain traction in the U.S. and Canada.

The two models fall into the compact category, measuring just 14.8 feet nose-to-tail. But the automaker has bragged about both the cabin and cargo capacity they offer. The Grizzly is a more angular package than the sweptback Grizzly Fastback.

The two SUVs will be produced in low-cost plants in Morocco and Brazil.

Multi-energy platforms

Over the last several years, Stellantis has focused on developing what it refers to as “multi-energy platforms,” and that should pay off for the Grizzly models – and the Chrysler packages to follow.

This will allow them to use a variety of different drivetrain technologies, including internal combustion engines, mild hybrids and all-electric drivelines, for the European and Latin American packages.

Specifics have yet to be announced for the U.S. Arrow models but Stellantis officials have shown growing support for conventional hybrid technology considering its rapid sales growth. By year-end, according to Telemetry Research, as many as one in five new vehicles could be sold with gas-electric drivetrain.

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“Suited for family life”

While the two Grizzly models might seem small by U.S. standards, the two models are significantly bigger than the iconic Fiat 500 and will offer substantially more room – and features – which Fiat described as “naturally suited to family life.”

It will offer more upscale technologies, from the LED headlights to the 12.3-inch infotainment screen, as well as a 10.25-inch digital gauge cluster. Add an array of advanced driver assistance systems and tech-forward options like a digital rearview mirror and access to Amazon’s Alexa voice assistant.

Most of those features are expected to carry over into the U.S. with the launch of the Chrysler Arrow and Arrow Cross. Currently, the once-iconic American brand offers only a single product line, the Pacifica minivan. Under Fastlane 2030 it will add three more, the last also including the bigger Airflow—a crossover picking up the name of a highly aerodynamic Chrysler model introduced nine decades ago.

Unanswered questions

There are a number of unanswered questions about the two Chrysler models:

• For one thing, how much will the overall design of the two Arrow packages be revised for the U.S. market?
• What sort of powertrain options will be offered in the States?
• How will they be priced? Expectations are that the U.S. Arrow models will start at around $30,000.

And will the Grizzly-cum-Arrow models fare better than Dodge did with the now-dropped Hornet crossover. Based on an Alfa Romeo package, the compact crossover received mediocre reviews and a poor reception from potential buyers.