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26 March 2018 | AutoData LAUNCH » CRONOS activity. Objective: 1 million units produced in 2020. During the inauguration of the pro- duction in Ferreyra, the governor of the province of Cordoba stressed the need for more investments that encourage the nationalization of the supply chain, so that the automotive industry has “solid bases in the country”. For all that it represents, since Cronos seems to close the cycle of renewal of FCA’s manufacturing in South America, the expectation about this new structure, much more efficient and with new pro- ducts, is great. This cycle, which began with the Jeep factory in Pernambuco, went through the modernization of Betim and nowCordoba, which gave rise to six new products, is ending, according to Ketter. “We offer more customer value with Toro, Mobi, Ducato and Argo. In 2016 our result was better than zero and in 2017 we had an interesting performance. We are proposing a new multi-brand busi- ness model with Jeep and Fiat, and we particularly believe we are prepared for market growth that will help improve the result in 2018”. Using the meaning of Cronus in Gre- ek mythology to represent the present moment of the FCA in the region, one can say that “the lord of time” inaugura- tes a new chapter in the history of the company. Catching everyone’s attention The Fiat brand was supposed to have an advantage in the price position of Cronos, which began to be sold in Brazil in the last days of February. That’s because it seemed certain that the model would arrive to fight directly with VW Virtus, presented at the end of 2017 - so the FCA would already know the values of the opponent’s table in the time to define theirs. But that is not the target of Fiat. Cronos has been developed and configured to compete with a more familiar public, which does not have status and innovation priorities - two prerogatives widely explored by Virtus. The candidates to lose part of the customers with the arrival of Cronos are models that have been leading this segment for some time: Chevrolet Prisma, Hyundai HB20S and Toyota Etios Sedan, respectively the first, third and fourth most sold in the last year. In addition to the well resolved design the Cronos is well- equipped, comfortable and spacious, importante requirements for the consumer, according to a market study by Fiat. It also offers the largest trunk of the category, with 525 liters. The price positioning of the versions shows that Cronos with a 1.3 engine - manual transmission and automated GSR - will respond for most customer choices. With a little more than R$ 50 thousand you can take the family to walk, share the car with the wife, carry a lot of things in the trunk. Everything that people with this profile most wish for. With Cronos, they will be catching everyone’s attention.