FCA'S MICKY BLY amping up electrification

New powertrain boss Micky Bly and his team are building an advanced propulsion-strategy roadmap that includes at least one more ICE development cycle.

With its asphalt-ripping Hellcat and Demon V8s dominating the engine headlines at FCA North America, and boom times for Ram and Jeep sales, hybridization and battery electric vehicles (EVs) have “not been the leading-edge story,” notes Michael “Micky” Bly, the company's newly arrived head of Powertrain Engine Engineering. And, he acknowledged, the company is clearly perceived as trailing the industry in the new-propulsion space.

“When I started the interview process to come to this position, that was one of my questions: ‘Where is FCA? Give me some insight,’” he told Automotive Engineering at the company's recent 2020 product preview. “Because what I'm intrigued about is seeing this technology develop-as well as ICE's continuing progress at the same time.”