“Italian Industry Minister Flavio Zanonato said he asked automaker Fiat to stay in Italy after its planned merger with Chrysler, which has led labor unions to fear it plans to move its headquarters to the United States.”
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Fiat could be close to raising the cash needed to buy the rest of Chrysler, two people familiar with the matter told Reuters. Apparently, the money will not come from a sale of Alfa to italophile Volkswagen, as previously surmised, but from banks. But knowing banks, they probably won’t simply move the $4 billion across the counter. These days, they often just find a willing buyer for a hefty fee … Read More >
“It may require a miracle to pull off the Fiat chief’s latest gambit,” Reuters writes. To get Fiat out of its rut, Sergio Marchionne has a risky plan: “Take his sporty Alfa Romeo brand global with more expensive models and triple its sales volume by 2016 – after years of losses.”
That plan, says Reuters, “represents Fiat’s only real hope of combating a collapse in its home market and breathing new life into idled factories.” What if it turns out as a bust? “Should it fail, and the new cars flop, the company that Italians view as a cornerstone of their economy will have little choice but to put thousands of employees out of work and tip entire communities into turmoil.” Read More >
Alfa Romeo will outsell Fiat in the United States once the sporty brand gets a foothold in its new market, according to Peter Grady, head of network development for the Chrysler Group, in an interview Reuters. Read More >
As we all know, TTAC has an occasional thing for pink cars. So has Fiat. Right where I live. Fiat delights Japan with the 500 Fiore Rosa (i.e. “Pink Flower”) limited edition of its Cinquecento. Read More >
Self-concious auto shoppers looking for a cheap, Italian-made vehicle need look no further than Jeep; Fiat announced plans for a $1.3 billion investment in an Italian plant to build a subcompact crossover for Fiat and Jeep.
With the exception of France, European governments offer very little help to their ailing car industries. Fiat hoped that Italy would follow the French example. Today, it received a cold shower instead. Italy’s prime minister Mario Monti “offers car makers sympathy, but no aid,” says Reuters.
Italy has not intervened with financial support for Fiat because its European losses are more than covered by revenue from its Chrysler unit in the United States, the report says.
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Despite previous calls for his ouster, Fiat’s CEO Sergio Marchionne was elected for another year as president of the influential European auto trade group ACEA, Reuters reports. In July, Volkswagen demanded Marchionne’s head after he had accused Volkswagen of exploiting the European crisis to gain market share by offering aggressive discounts. Read More >
Aston Martin won’t be sold to the Indians, nor will it be sold to the Chinese. The low-intensity bidding war for the British boutique sports car maker was won by the Italian private equity group Investindustrial. It is buying 37.5 percent for $241 million via a capital increase agreed with majority Kuwaiti owner Investment Dar, Reuters reports after having received confirmation by Aston Martin. Read More >
Last year, our esteemed Ed in Chief Niedermeyer did intensive research into what was left of then Libyan ruler Muammar Gaddafi’s share holdings in Fiat. Fiat denied that the Colonel had any financial interest in Fiat, but he did. The holdings were seized by the Italian government. Read More >
Sergio Marchionne can’t wait to get his hands on the 41.5 percent of Chrysler, which are in the hands of the UAW’s VEBA trust. Once Fiat is in total control, Fiat and Chrysler could be merged, and the cash could be used to … but you know the drill from years back. Currently at stake are 3.3 percent. Fiat has a call option, but the UAW trust doesn’t want to fork the shares over. Read More >
“Whenever Sergio Marchionne, chief executive of carmakers Fiat and Chrysler, appears in public, television crews jostle to beam his words around the globe. Amid the push and shove it’s easy to miss the tall, curly-headed young man who often looks on from the sidelines.
He’s John Elkann. And he’s Marchionne’s boss.” Read More >
Fiat and Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne repeated its pleas that European governments should do something about the overcapacity in the region. Being in Shanghai when he said that, he recommended that the Chinese government does the same. The governments likely won’t be enthusiastic about Sergio’s advice.
Said Sergio while the Wall Street Journal took notes: Read More >
For the first time, I am worried that gasoline is at the end of its life cycle. Gas pumps already have landed in the museum. Read More >
Carmakers do get hurt when someone calls their cars junk. When Moody’s calls your credit rating junk, then this hurts a lot: It makes financing more expensive, or possibly impossible. Moody’s lowered the credit rating of Fiat and PSA Citroen Peugeot to Ba3 with negative outlook. Translation: This is serious junk, and it might get worse. Read More >
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