Last Thursday, Fiat approved investing of 1.3 billion Euro in retooling its Mirafiori plant in Turin, chosen for manufacturing 280,000 compact SUVs for the Alfa Romeo and Jeep brands joint-venture company.

The completely new ride will be the first series SUV in Alfa's 101-year history and will replace the Compass/Patriot under the Jeep brand. The output of the new Alfa, Jeep SUV is scheduled for the third or fourth quarter of 2012, and is aimed to compete directly against the Audi Q5, BMW X3 and Mercedes-Benz GLK.

The manufacturing process of the new Alfa – Jeep SUVs is expected to give new life to the Italian plant, which opened back in 1939. Half of the 280,000 vehicles to be made in the Turin plant will be sold in Europe and the other half will be exported, mainly to North America.

Alfa Romeo Kamal (2003)
Alfa Romeo Kamal (2003) - picture 1 of 5
Alfa Romeo Kamal (2003) - picture 2 of 5
Alfa Romeo Kamal (2003) - picture 3 of 5
Alfa Romeo Kamal (2003) - picture 4 of 5
Alfa Romeo Kamal (2003) - picture 5 of 5