Sergio Marchionne Hasn't Forgotten About GM, You Guys

by Aaron Cole

December 31st, 2020 12:46 PM

Speaking at the Formula One Italian Grand Prix this weekend, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles CEO Sergio Marchionne told Reuters that a merger with General Motors was at the top of his list.

“That discussion remains a high priority for FCA,” Marchionne told Reuters. “We consider it to be the best possible strategic alternative for us and for them. General Motors does remain the ideal partner for us and we represent a not easily replaceable alternative for them.”

(Emphasis mine. But what are the other “strategic alternatives?”)

Marchionne stopped short of saying that he’d pursue a hostile takeover bid for GM, although he already said there were various forms of “hugs” that he’d have for the automaker to convince them.

“There are varying degrees of hugs. I can hug you nicely, I can hug you tightly, I can hug you like a bear, I can really hug you. Everything starts with physical contact. Then it can degrade, but it starts with physical contact,” he told Automotive News last month.

GM has said it has no interest in a “bail out” of FCA.

Marchionne was spotted in the garage at Ferrari during the race. Next month, Ferrari will spin off from FCA to help raise cash for the debt-saddled automaker. Marchionne said he believes that Ferrari could be worth $11 billion.

#Consolidation #Fca #Ferrari #GeneralMotors #SergioMarchionne

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13 of 78 comments

Dirtyblueshirt on Sep 07, 2015

Am I the only one who noticed that they're using the old Dodge logo still?

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Lynn Ellsworth on Sep 08, 2015

What is the story with Jeep? No one has mentioned that Jeep kills every company that takes it on. Jeep is selling well now but does making it require non-compatible parts and special assembly lines so even if it sells well there is extra expense in putting up with it? Would FCA be better off if they gave Jeep away? Maybe we could use it as a weapon to destroy the Chinese auto industry.

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- 28-Cars-Later on Sep 08, 2015
  
  I've heard that before about Jeep and it seems to be true based on history, however Jeep seems to be the crown jewel of FCA at the moment. Without it what have you really got? A truck division ok, but then there is Chrysler and Dodge which are not the strongest brands on their own. Then you've got Fiat and its Italian brands which I am no so sure how strong they are on their own.
  
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- JustPassinThru on Sep 08, 2015
  
  Jeep...is a a siren. It has seduced bigger carmakers since its inception - killing first American Bantam; then, slowly killing Willys. Then the Kaiser conglomerate took over Willys; folding Kaiser-Frazer into it. They would have made it but for the coming safety laws in 1966. They sold it to AMC...actually, engineered a sale since Kaiser owned a big chunk of AMC at the time. Probably Henry's dream to take over AMC; but Henry Kaiser died in 1967. The family wanted only to liquidate; all of the Kaiser industries went away. AMC...was at a crossroads; and while Jeep was a good purchase, they went down a dead end with the new Matador and Pacer. That sealed their fate. In comes Chrysler; and through no flaw of the company itself, it finds itself put in play and finally raped by Daimler. The end result was a Chrysler that was less viable than AMC was. Now it's FCA's turn. Once again, players and operators have gotten control. None of this is the fault of Jeep, the product...but it seems to hang over the marque like a cloud. Give it to the Chinese? I'd hate to see that...but maybe it's the only way...
  
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- Steve65 on Sep 08, 2015
  
  @JustPassinThru More like Jeep keeps getting grabbed by dying companies hoping to be rescued, but proves insufficient to single-handedly save them.
  
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- RobertRyan on Sep 08, 2015
  
  @28-Days-Later, " Truck Division" RAM only exists in North America. His real Truck Division, that covers, light commercials, MDT's/ HDT's IVECO along with CNH, i.e. Case is a real money maker. So are Ferrari and Maseratti. Italian and North American cars, with the exception of Jeep are not making money.
  
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- DenverMike on Sep 08, 2015
  
  @RobertRyan Ferrari and Maserati are losers. They should be culled, and can no way stand alone. That's why they're owned by Fiat. Ram pickups are only a North American thing, but are still the 3rd most profitable "cars" in the world. Ram pickups are best 'line' of cars Sergio has going for him and Fiat. Except for the Cherokee, nothing else FCA related even comes close. If he could, he would do best by killing all else *except* for the Cherokee, Wrangler, Challenger, Charger, Grand Caravan and 300. That's from the Chrysler end. Ferrari and Maserati would be next on the chopping block.
  
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- RobertRyan on Sep 08, 2015
  
  @DenverMike Ferrari and Maserati make a fair bit of profit for Fiat,but he would need to sell them to raise the 3-4 Billion he needs to help do a hostile takeover of GM. They are separate from Fiat anyway.They are prized assets, that do a fair bit of Automotive research as well as produce Sportscars and race cars RAM and a Jeep are Chryslers profit centre , without them it would not survive. The others are quite profitable,IVECO/ CNH , but Fiat cars are not, they have consistently let the side down
  
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- DenverMike on Sep 08, 2015
  
  @DenverMike Maserati and Ferrari are exactly that. Prized possessions. So it doesn't matter if they sell at a loss. Or in other words, "halo cars". The same way the Viper, Ford GT and Corvette are probably all losers when it comes to direct profitability. This is all fine when over all OEM (group) profits are good. Otherwise they have to die.
  
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- JustPassinThru on Sep 09, 2015
  
  @Steve65 Not really. There was no such thing as a "bailout" in the 1950s when Henry Kaiser's company bought Willys-Overland. Nor was there any talk of hitting the public treasury when AMC was persuaded/pushed into buying Kaiser-Jeep. The Renault purchase of AMC-Jeep got no government support - in fact it lost favor and Renault was told to sell government-contractor AMGeneral. The Chrysler purchase happened a few years after Lido made a big show of paying off the loan guarantees. No government money there, either. ONLY FCA got governmnet HELP in buying up American industries. Thank Sergio, who plays the crony game well.
  
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DweezilSFV on Sep 08, 2015

New company name: F-GM. I kind of like that.

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- Thelaine on Sep 08, 2015
  
  Agreed dweez. Let Sergio and Mary merge.
  
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And003 on Sep 15, 2015

With all due respect to Marchionne and what he's done with Chrysler, it's just as well that GM refused his idea. I'm not a fan of the idea of an FCA merger with GM because of a little thing called vehicle overlap. FCA US LLC has vehicles that compete with similar vehicles at GM, and I fear that if a merger were to take place, production of vehicles like the Challenger, RAM and Viper would cease, and I'm not looking forward to that.

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