FCA's Marchionne Changes Tune on VW After Unflattering Remarks From Mller
Fiat Chrysler Automobiles CEO Sergio Marchionne changed his stance on the appeal of a potential merger with Volkswagen AG, saying he now has “zero interest” after being publicly spurned by company CEO Matthias Müller.
Marchionne had previously expressed a repeated interest in sharing business with the German automaker, especially with regard to green technologies.
However, after an initial remark where he said he was “not ruling out a conversation,” Müller explained that he had no direct contact with the FCA CEO. “It would be very helpful if Mr. Marchionne were to communicate his considerations to me too and not just to you,” Müller told German reporters on Tuesday. “I am pretty confident about the future of Volkswagen, with or without Marchionne,” he concluded.
The pronouncement did not go over well with Sergio, and he noticeably changed his tune when speaking to reporters just a day later.
“I will not call Matthias. I have no interest,” said Marchionne. “If he wants to come, he knows where I live. I didn’t chase him and I have no intention of chasing him. But if I’m right on consolidation and the fact you need to build scale, we’re the natural place to go for him.”
“I only said that if you were the No. 1 automaker in Europe and somebody combines with another automaker to become the second and gets very close to your position, your very first reaction is to distance the second again,” Marchionne told the press on Wednesday after President Trump’s visit to Detroit. “We are the only natural combination partner for somebody who wants to do that. If you were playing a chess board game, that’s what you would do.”
Thanks to the fresh drama, the possibility of a merger between the two automakers seems less and less likely, although Marchionne seemed to indicate Müller could still reach out to him in what amounts to a look-who-came-crawling-back scenario and personally ask to make a deal. The prospects of that occurring seem less than certain.
We have a feeling this European telenovela is far from over.
[Image: Fiat Chrysler Automobiles] [Source: Reuters]
A staunch consumer advocate tracking industry trends and regulation. Before joining TTAC, Matt spent a decade working for marketing and research firms based in NYC. Clients included several of the world’s largest automakers, global tire brands, and aftermarket part suppliers. Dissatisfied with the corporate world and resentful of having to wear suits everyday, he pivoted to writing about cars. Since then, that man has become an ardent supporter of the right-to-repair movement, been interviewed on the auto industry by national radio broadcasts, driven more rental cars than anyone ever should, participated in amateur rallying events, and received the requisite minimum training as sanctioned by the SCCA. Handy with a wrench, Matt grew up surrounded by Detroit auto workers and managed to get a pizza delivery job before he was legally eligible. He later found himself driving box trucks through Manhattan, guaranteeing future sympathy for actual truckers. He continues to conduct research pertaining to the automotive sector as an independent contractor and has since moved back to his native Michigan, closer to where the cars are born. A contrarian, Matt claims to prefer understeer — stating that front and all-wheel drive vehicles cater best to his driving style.
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He's like the catcaller on the street who, put in his place, says "You're ugly anyway, b!tch."
Good to now testosterone, not business sense, are driving these billion-dollar decisions.