Sergio For President: One More Year
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.
“Marchionne is unbearable as president of ACEA,” Volkswagen communications chief Stephan Grühsem told Reuters in July. “In our view, his comments are unqualified yet again. We’re therefore calling on him to step down.” Volkswagen threatened to “exit from the manufacturers association.”
Volkswagen and Fiat made up at the Paris auto show in September, and Marchionne stayed on. The rotating presidency of the carmaker club is shared by French, Italian and German automobile manufacturers. Members Toyota and Hyundai, which were accepted very reluctantly, stand no chance. Presidents rule one or two years.
Bertel Schmitt comes back to journalism after taking a 35 year break in advertising and marketing. He ran and owned advertising agencies in Duesseldorf, Germany, and New York City. Volkswagen A.G. was Bertel's most important corporate account. Schmitt's advertising and marketing career touched many corners of the industry with a special focus on automotive products and services. Since 2004, he lives in Japan and China with his wife <a href="http://www.tomokoandbertel.com"> Tomoko </a>. Bertel Schmitt is a founding board member of the <a href="http://www.offshoresuperseries.com"> Offshore Super Series </a>, an American offshore powerboat racing organization. He is co-owner of the racing team Typhoon.
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I'm quite sure that him giving the gears to VW rewon him the job. Everyone else but VW is tired of their actions and their BSD attitude. They'd like to have VW in the dirt, a little bit at least, to feel the pain everyone else is being subjected to.
Great, this will give ol' Sweet Pete from Autoextremist.com something to rail on and on about for years to come, even though he says he has no bias/hatred against Chrysler. His vitriolic remarks about anything Fiat or Chrysler related tells another narrative.
So Sergio wants VW to sell cars at max price during an economic downturn? Discounts and rebates are a normal part of the car industry. Or is this some weird EU rule?
persistent fella, though there wouldn't be a FIAT without Red Ink Rick's cash contribution. hard working as the dude is, a little humble pie would make for a favorable dietary supplement.