Fiat Chrysler Unveils Plan to Invest in Electric, Self-Driving Vehicles

If that works out as planned, the auto maker expects to double operating profit to €16 billion ($18.71 billion) by 2022 and hit double-digit profit margins from 6.8% today. Chief Executive Sergio Marchionne said the company will invest €9 billion to develop and deploy electric engines as it expands its lineup of electric-powered vehicles, part of a €45 billion spending plan over the next five years focused on four core brands: Jeep SUVs, Ram pickups and Alfa Romeo and Maserati luxury cars. "This plan will provide the portfolio of products aligned with our brands that will ensure our ability to comply in each region" with stricter emissions and fuel-economy standards, Mr. Marchionne told financial analysts and media at a meeting on a company test track located outside Milan. In the U.S., the company is expanding its bet on bigger SUVs and trucks, reflecting consumer demand and a more relaxed approach to increasing fuel economy standards in Washington. Mr. Marchionne chided his peers for appearing to back away from what he said was a unified request to President Donald Trump by auto industry leaders to ease fuel economy regulations.