Fiat Linea production allocated to Russia

One of Russia's biggest car companies, Sollers, plans to start production on the Fiat Linea sedan in August/September at its plant in Naberezhnye Chelny, CEO Vadim Shvetsov has declared. The car will on sale during September.

Localization of production will reach 35%. Sollers has no plans to boost this figure since it wants to launch a new car line in 2015-'16. This is the second go by Sollers at producing the Linea sedan. Back in 2008, Sollers announced plans to build the car in the Alabuga economic area of Tartarstan but abandoned the idea.

Prices and specifications for the Linea in Russia were not released but local analysts think that the entry-level model will start at less than $16,000. The Russian Linea sedan is likely to be powered by a 1.4 litre 77bhp & 120bhp petrol engine, in addition to a 1.3 MultiJet diesel engine.

Shvetsov said that the Linea will primarily contend with the popular Ford Focus in Russia.

Chrysler to use Fiat MultiAir engines

Chrysler has announced a raft of new engines for its line-up, which it says will boost the overall fuel-efficiency of its vehicles by 25% between now and 2014.

The engines are taken from Fiat's range, and include direct injection, turbocharged, and Multiair units, plus dual-clutch transmissions. Chrysler said 80% of its vehicles across all its brands will get the new technology.

Among the line-up is two Multiair 4 cylinder units: a 100bhp 1.4 litre unit with 95lb ft of torque and a turbocharged 1.4 litre unit with 170bhp and 170lbft of torque. A 190bhp 2.4 litre Multiair unit putting out 175lb ft of torque will also be available. A 280bhp 3.4 litre V6 Multiair unit with 260lb ft of torque will also be available and will first be available in the Jeep Grand Cherokee later next year.

Chrysler says that it will start selling vehicles with a new 6 speed Dual Dry Clutch Transmission (DDCT) from later this year, with the next generation Sebring thought most likely to get the unit first. A hybrid Ram 1500 will also go on sale later this year.

One of the conditions attached to Fiat's shareholding in Chrysler being expanded in future was that the Italian manufacturer must reach emissions targets with the U.S brand.

Fiat Uno to arrive late 2011 (EU)

The new Fiat Uno will arrive in Europe late next year, according to reports.

The Brazilian-developed budget supermini will be built at the Zastava factory in Serbia, which currently makes the Punto Mk2. Fiat has announced a €150 million (£130m) investment in the Serbian factory earlier this year in preparation for introducing the Uno.

The company’s European product plan describes the new Uno as an “entry-level B-sector car”, suggesting that it will be very competitively priced. Although UK sales aren’t definite, we expect prices to start from £6,000, under-cutting the smaller Panda, which starts at £7,665. In Brazil, prices start from R$ 27,350 (£10,356), rising to R$ 31,870 (£12,000).

In Fiat’s European line-up, the Uno will slot between the Panda city-car and Grande Punto/Punto Evo supermini.

The Uno is powered by two new flexi-fuel petrol engines; a 1.0 litre unit developing 73bhp on alcohol & 75bhp on petrol and a 1.4 litre engine kicking out 85bhp using petrol and 88bhp on alcohol. The front wheel drive supermini is geared through a 5 speed manual transmission.