Fiat will source a midsize truck from Mitsubishi

MILAN -- Fiat Chrysler will source a new midsize pickup for Europe and Latin America from Mitsubishi Motors.

The truck will be based on the next-generation Mitsubishi L200 model, Fiat and Mitsubishi said in a statement today.

The automakers said they have signed a non-binding memorandum of understanding to develop and manufacture a midsize pickup truck, supplied by Mitsubishi and based on the next-generation L200.

The Japanese automaker is also due to supply its made-in-Thailand Attrage sedan to Chrysler for sale in Mexico, according to Reuters sources.

Fiat and Mitsubishi did not give any more details about the pickup.

Automotive News Europe reported in May that the pickup will be sold by the Fiat Professional light commercial vehicle brand in Europe and Latin America.

Fiat Chrysler’s new five-year plan, unveiled in May, has a pickup for Europe and Latin America debuting in 2016. At the moment it is unclear where Fiat’s pickup will be made, but Mitsubishi builds the current L200 in Thailand.

Fiat’s current lineup includes the Strada, a front-wheel-drive-only unibody small pickup built in Brazil and sold in Europe and Latin America. The Strada was Fiat Professional’s top seller last year with a volume of 134,000 units.

Broadening Fiat Professional’s lineup is a crucial element of Fiat Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne’s plan to make the automaker’s European business profitable again. Fiat has lost 2.15 billion euros ($2.93 billion) in the region in the past three years, but aims to end losses by 2016.

Marchionne first promised a large pickup with a 1-ton loading capacity in his 2006 business plan. The pickup was due to arrive in 2008 from Fiat’s plant in Argentina sharing underpinnings with Tata Motors’ Xenon, but Fiat decided not to build its own version of the model.

Plans for a pickup reappeared in Marchionne’s 2010 business strategy. It was supposed be a version of the Dodge Dakota pickup. That model was never built.

Reuters contributed to this report