Stellantis is right here, and meaning a number of the seven manufacturers that Fiat Chrysler Vehicles is bringing to the desk may not be round for for much longer.

The excessive factors of the post-merger blueprint in North America are not any secret: Churn out as many Ram pickups as attainable and push Jeep into increased worth factors and new segments.

However Stellantis executives must determine how the remainder of FCA’s expansive model roster suits into the long-term puzzle and whether or not cuts must be made.

Chrysler is down to 2 minivan nameplates and the growing old 300 sedan. Alfa Romeo is seeing indicators of life — its U.S. gross sales grew 1.6 % in a down market final 12 months — however volumes are low for the Giulia sedan and Stelvio crossover.

Fiat has been hanging on with its line of small vehicles, however its slowing gross sales have dropped even additional amid the pandemic, falling by greater than half final 12 months to simply 4,303 autos. In the meantime, Dodge has carved out a distinct segment because the muscle model, but it surely has no electrified choices, and two of its three nameplates nonetheless in manufacturing are vehicles in a market that is closely tilted to SUVs and crossovers.

Add within the seven manufacturers that PSA Group is contributing to the merger, and a few streamlining seems probably. However killing any FCA manufacturers would not be a straightforward resolution or course of, although nearly not one of the firm’s dealerships are single-brand shops that will be omitted within the chilly.

“You’ll want to be actually prudent in the event you’re pondering of killing a model as a dad or mum firm,” stated Karl Brauer, govt analyst for iSeeCars.com, a used-car search website. “I have a look at two manufacturers like Fiat and Chrysler. It appears definitely simple to think about them going away, that they don’t seem to be justified given their gross sales quantity and market share. However I additionally really feel all these guidelines that we’d have usually been assuming for [FCA] are totally different now due to the merger with PSA.”

Alfa Romeo has been in an uphill battle since its 2014 return to the U.S.

Final fall, FCA CEO Mike Manley stated the automaker was refocusing Alfa’s portfolio on segments and markets the place it has efficiently competed prior to now. He would not rule out the potential for extra merchandise past 2022 however stated that is determined by efficiency.

Two new crossovers are anticipated to spice up the Alfa lineup by means of subsequent 12 months.

Maserati appears to have a future as an electrified luxurious possibility that may provide a spread of self-driving capabilities within the years forward. Manley stated in September that Maserati is FCA’s solely true luxurious model and that it will hold that function inside Stellantis.

Doug Betts, a former FCA govt who’s president of J.D. Energy’s automotive division, is not optimistic about Alfa Romeo’s future within the U.S.

He has inspired associates searching for a car to check drive the Giulia as a result of he considers it to be a “stunning automobile.” However being a automobile, he stated, is an issue in a crossover-heavy market.

“There is a stigma with Italian manufacturers, about reliability and so forth,” Betts stated.

Brauer stated Alfa has a “robust id and an iconic long-term nature that will be unlucky to squander” by letting it go.

Dave Kelleher, FCA’s vendor council chairman, would not wish to see Chrysler dropped.

Kelleher stated the model nonetheless has among the best minivans in the marketplace with the Pacifica. Chrysler led the minivan phase with gross sales of almost 100,000 Pacificas within the U.S. final 12 months, along with almost 40,000 of the discontinued Dodge Grand Caravan.

Kelleher, who owns David Dodge-Chrysler-Jeep-Ram in Glen Mills., Pa., believes Chrysler ought to transfer ahead as a household model. He hopes Stellantis provides a crossover to the Chrysler lineup as properly.

He additionally can be open to including a second Chrysler automobile. As an alternative of engineering a brand new mannequin, Kelleher stated, the corporate would possibly be capable to rebadge a automobile from the PSA lineup at a low sufficient value for that to make sense, even when it did not generate vital quantity.

“You must be practical,” he stated. “The automobile’s going to promote, in a quantity dealership, 5 or 10 a month. It is not going to be a dominant car, but when the price foundation for the corporate’s comparatively down, why not look to do this?”

For now, Chrysler has model fairness, but it surely’s in a weak spot with few merchandise to promote, stated Jessica Caldwell, govt director of insights for Edmunds. She would not assume a crossover would assist given that buyers already should purchase utility autos from Jeep’s expansive portfolio or go for a freshened Dodge Durango.

“I feel giving it a cause or goal or a distinct segment would in all probability be the primary order of enterprise earlier than attempting to provide you with merchandise that will save the model,” Caldwell stated. “I do not know if the model’s days are numbered, however I feel if they don’t give it a greater technique, it does really feel inevitable.”

The efficiency area of interest that Dodge has carved out since splitting off Ram in 2009 needs to be sufficient to maintain it alive beneath the Stellantis umbrella, analysts stated.

Brian Moody, govt editor for Autotrader, stated he can envision Dodge “turning into primarily a heritage model, the place they could have one or two vehicles that fulfill a nostalgic area of interest, even when it transacted at the next worth level than what a traditional sedan or coupe would.”

However Moody wonders how lengthy the model can proceed with its growing old underpinnings. “Do they develop all new platforms, or are there some shared platforms that [Dodge] can reap the benefits of?” he stated.

Betts stated the Charger holds a novel place as a muscular four-door complement to the Challenger.

The model may discover new life if it turns to electrification.

“If, in the end, they make the transition to electrified powertrains however nonetheless [keep] the identical persona, then I feel there’s an incredible future,” Betts stated.

Kelleher believes Dodge may convey pleasure to that rising a part of the market.

“I would wish to see Dodge proceed to develop the road,” Kelleher stated. “How cool wouldn’t it be if Dodge got here up with probably the most highly effective hybrid that was ever constructed?”

Fiat is clinging to life within the U.S. The Italian model, reintroduced to Individuals in 2010, has a wealthy historical past however hasn’t discovered a welcoming public.

It might be on the way in which out quickly. FCA stated final month that the Fiat 124 Spider, which was primarily based on the Mazda MX-5 Miata, and 500L are useless after the 2020 mannequin 12 months. That leaves only one nameplate: the 500X.

“For no matter cause,” Moody stated, “their message of a extra premium expertise in an Italian [car] will not be actually clicking with American patrons.”