* Fiat Chrysler Q3 adj. EBIT up 35 pct to 1.3 bln euros
* North America accounts for 91 pct of quarterly earnings
* Carmaker confirms FY guidance
* To increase SUV production for hot U.S. SUV market (Adds CEO comments on a new large SUV and Alfa Romeo strategy.)
By Agnieszka Flak and Bernie Woodall
MILAN/DETROIT, Oct 28 (Reuters) - Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) FCHA.MI FCAU.N Chief Executive Sergio Marchionne said on Wednesday the company will make a new large SUV for the U.S. market, attacking one of the most profitable franchises for rivals General Motors Co (N:GM) GM.N and Ford Motor Co F.N .
Marchionne used a conference call scheduled to coincide with third-quarter results to outline new details of his strategy to boost profits in North America, and signaled he is adjusting strategy for luxury brands Alfa Romeo and Maserati to compensate for slowing demand in China.
The automaker's shares skidded in Milan and New York after it reported a 299 million-euro loss for the third quarter, reflecting a 602 million-euro charge ($667 million) mainly to cover costs related to U.S. safety recalls. The company said operating profit rose 35 percent not including the charges.
Marchionne suggested Fiat Chrysler could use its Ram truck brand in the United States to field a bulked up competitor to GM's Chevrolet Tahoe and Suburban and Ford's Expedition. In April, Fiat Chrysler showed a prototype of a large Ramcharger SUV, borrowing the name from a pickup truck-based vehicle of the same name discontinued more than a decade ago.
GM currently commands about 70 percent of the large-SUV market in the United States, and last week reported record $3.3 billion pre-tax profits from North American operations for the third quarter. Marchionne has also said Fiat Chrysler should make a large luxury SUV to compete with Jaguar Land Rover's TAMO.NS Range Rover.
"We have a reasonable chance to get at least a part of that market," Marchionne said, adding cheap gasoline should encourage enough demand for such vehicles to accommodate more entries.
Building more SUVs and fewer cars such as the compact Dodge Dart could help Fiat Chrysler to attain the same double-digit North American operating profit margins GM and Ford have in the region, Marchionne said.
Fiat Chrysler's North American operating margin was 6.7 percent, better than the 4.2 percent from a year ago but for the quarter much lower than GM's 11.8 percent and Ford's 11.3 percent. Marchionne has vowed to close the gap with Ford and GM profit margins by 2018.
Marchionne said the company is sticking with a plan to sell 400,000 Alfa Romeo vehicles worldwide by 2018, but said the brand will have to shift focus to North America and Europe because of lower expectations for sales in China.
($1 = 0.9029 euros)