The GEMA "World Engine" (middle, in 2.4 litre format) is at present fitted to a range of Chrysler Group models including the 2010 Dodge Charger (top) and the 2010 Jeep Compass (bottom).

Chrysler has announced that it has ended the recent engine building alliance with Hyundai and Mitsubishi as with its new access to Fiat powerplants and technology the joint venture has is surplus to plans. The Global Engine Manufacturing Alliance is a joint partnership comprised of Chrysler LLC, Hyundai Motor Company (HMC), and Mitsubishi Motors Corporation (MMC). 

The partnership was formed to serve the needs of all three companies, with the goal of manufacturing an advanced family of fuel-efficient, cost-competitive, in-line four-cylinder gasoline engines for the automotive industry. However the GEMA engines, which are marketed by Chrysler as the "World Engine", have received an almost universal thumbs down for their all-round abilities and Fiat Powertrain's alternatives are to a much higher standard. The news comes as a slight surprise though as Fiat had been closely examining the GEMA engine and in a recent interview with Bloomberg on June 28 Fiat Powertrain's Chief Technology Officer Dr Rinaldo Rinolfi was quoted as saying that: "Chrysler makes two engines that are the most likely to be retrofitted with the MultiAir technology," the other engine being the 'Pentastar' V6.

Chrysler announced the that GEMA would be dissolved in a statement issued yesterday: "Effective August 31, 2009, Global Engine Manufacturing Alliance (GEMA) is now a wholly-owned subsidiary of Chrysler Group LLC," read the press release issued in Auburn Hills, Michigan. "Former GEMA partners, Mitsubishi Motors Corporation and Hyundai Motor Company, have sold their interests in the manufacturing alliance to the Chrysler Group. Going forward, GEMA and its employees will continue to build state-of-the-art engines for Chrysler Group's line of exciting, fuel efficient vehicles."

"Fiat has its own engine technology, which was highly touted," the AP news agency reported Chrysler spokesman Max Gates as saying yesterday. "We haven't made any announcements about building those engines in the U.S.," he added. Chrysler Group current uses the GEMA engine in the Chrysler's Sebring sedan and convertible, Dodge's Avenger and Caliber and Jeep's Compass and Patriot.

The "Global Engine" produced at the GEMA facility in Dundee, Michigan is based on a common engine architecture that is also produced at three sister HMC and MMC facilities worldwide.  In total, Global Engines can be found in over 20 different vehicles worldwide and production of all Global Engine variants currently surpasses 1 million units a year.  The GEMA Dundee facility produces a family of engines ranging in size from 1.8 to 2.4 litres, including a turbo variant capable in excess of 300 HP. In September 2008, GEMA celebrated the production of its 1,000,000th engine – exactly three years since the plant launched in September of 2005.

While the engines themselves have earned poor reviews GEMA has attracted significant attention within the manufacturing world as a innovative lean manufacturing environment - having won several high-profile awards (such as the Harbour Award and the Shingo Prize) as well as having been featured in publications such as Fortune magazine, the New York Times and others.  The “GEMA Model” as it has come to be known has gained a reputation as a lean business model and proven that domestic manufacturing can remain truly competitive in a global marketplace while retaining quality, high-paying jobs in Michigan.