Posts Tagged ‘Sergio Marchionne’
Fiat/Chrysler apologizes for jest.
by Paul A. Eisenstein on May.21, 2013
Fiat/Chrysler CEO Marchionne gets his point across -- but angers some listeners.
Fiat/Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne has apologized for using what some took as an offensive term for Italian-Americans during the Detroit Auto Show last January.
Describing his frustrations with the slow effort to return the Alfa Romeo brand to the U.S. market, Marchionne said the new 4C sports car didn’t have the right powertrain yet, adding that, “With all due respect to my American friends, it needs to be a wop engine.”
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The term was meant to convey the desire to have a distinctly Italian engine for the little Alfa – which ultimately won approval from Marchionne a few weeks later.
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Tags: Fiat-Chrysler, Sergio Marchionne, alfa news, auto news, car news, chrysler marchionne, chrysler news, fiat news, fiat sergio marchionne, marchionne alfa, marchionne slur, paul a. eisenstein, paul eisenstein, thedetroitbureau
Posted in Automobiles | 1 Comment »
Rumored move could follow Italian maker’s complete merger with Chrysler.
by Paul A. Eisenstein on May.17, 2013
Fiat/Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne has some critical decisions to make in the coming months.
With Fiat SpA hoping to wrap up its takeover of Chrysler LLC sometime this year, the maker appears to be thinking over what could be an equally significant step, the possible move of its corporate headquarters from Italy to the U.S.
Marchionne recently indicated he’d like to switch from having Fiat, Italy’s largest manufacturer, listed on the Milan exchange and instead traded on the New York Stock Exchange. But several sources say the Canadian-educated executive is also giving serious thought to basing the merged automaker out Chrysler’s sprawling campus in the Detroit suburb of Auburn Hills.
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It would be a sharp blow for recession-plagued Italy, but perhaps no surprise despite the fact that Fiat has been headquartered in the northern industrial city of Turin since it was founded in 1899 as Fabbrica Italiana Automobili Torino.
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Tags: Fiat-Chrysler, Sergio Marchionne, auto news, car news, chrysler news, fiat chrysler stock, fiat headquarters, fiat hq, fiat michigan, fiat news, fiat us, paul a. eisenstein, paul eisenstein, thedetroitbureau
Posted in Automobiles | 2 Comments »
Move designed to ensure the aura of exclusivity.
by Joseph Szczesny on May.09, 2013
Ferrari is cutting back on production this year to maintain the brand's exclusivity.
Nothing turns heads quite like the sight of a Ferrari roaring down the road. The excitement and awe stems from the fact there aren’t many around. To ensure that continues, Ferrari plans to cut sales to fewer than 7,000 vehicles this year to maintain that aura of exclusivity around the storied brand.
“The decision we have made to sell fewer cars this year despite stronger sales is due to protect brand’s exclusivity,” Ferrari Chairman Luca Cordero di Montezemolo told reporters during a session at the company’s fabled factory in Maranello, Italy.
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Ferrari produced 7,318 cars last year, he said.
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Tags: Ferrari, Ferrari's Luca Cordero di Montezemolo, Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne, Italian cars, Italian super cars, Luca Cordero di Montezemolo, Maserati, Sergio Marchionne, TheDetroitBureau.com., chrysler, ferrari enzo, fiat, hybrid sports cars, italian sports cars, l Joseph Szczesny, la ferrari, laferrari, super cars, thedetroitbureau, ultra car
Posted in Automobiles | 1 Comment »
Marchionne says company has cash to make purchase.
by Joseph Szczesny on Apr.29, 2013
Fiat/Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne says the company has the cash to purchase the UAW VEBA's 41.5% stake.
The timing of Fiat’s purchase of the remaining 41.5% stake in Chrysler – currently held by United Auto Workers VEBA trust – is moving towards resolution, but the timing remains a topic of conversation.
“It’s under discussion,” Chrysler/Fiat Chief Executive Officer Sergio Marchionne said during the Chrysler earnings conference call. When pressed by analysts and reporters, Marchionne declined to offer any details. However, he suggested Fiat was in position to use its own resources to acquire the remaining stake from the VEBA.
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“When I last checked the bank account, there was enough money,” he said.
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Tags: Fiat-Chrysler, Sergio Marchionne, TheDetroitBureau.com., UAW, chrysler, fiat, joseph szczesny, thedetroitbureau, uaw veba
Posted in Automobiles | 4 Comments »
Q1 results negatively impacted by product launches.
by Joseph Szczesny on Apr.29, 2013
Chrysler Group's Q1 earnings dropped in part, to the launch of the new Dodge Ram.
A sharp downturn in the company’s production of new vehicles tied to new product launches undercut Chrysler Group’s cut Chrysler’s profits by two-thirds during the first quarter of 2013.
Chrysler Group reported Q1 net income net income dropped 65% to $166 million, compared with $473 million for the same quarter last year. It was the seventh consecutive quarter of positive net income.
The results, which were expected, were a result of lower vehicle shipments as well as industrial costs related to several key product launches, and lower vehicle shipments to Europe and Latin America, even as retail sales in North America remain strong, the company said.
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Nonetheless Chrysler Chief Executive Officer Sergio Marchionne insisted the company remains on a path to longer-term prosperity as it ramps up production of the new Jeep Cherokee and Grand Cherokee as well as the Dodge Ram.
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Tags: 2013 results, Chrysler Group, Dodge Ram, Jeep Grand Cherokee, Sergio Marchionne, TheDetroitBureau.com., auto sales, chrysler sales, fiat, first quarter 2013 results, jeep cherokee, jeep liberty, joseph szczesny, thedetroitbureau
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“We need to innovate,” CEO tells automotive engineers.
by Joseph Szczesny on Apr.19, 2013
Fiat plans to sell only a few 100 of its 500e battery cars in California -- at a significant loss.
Chrysler Group will lose a substantial amount of money on every battery powered Fiat 500 that it plans to sell in the state of California, Fiat/Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne warned during a speech in Detroit Thursday night.
Marchionne said the new Fiat 500e is technically very impressive, having posted some of the best fuel-economy figures yet for a vehicle with an alternative powertrain. But the potential losses on the project will likely be equally notable.
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“We will lose $10,000 per vehicle. Doing that on a large scale would industrial masochism,” noted Marchionne, who also took an oblique swipe at California regulators, particularly the California Air Resources Board, or CARB.
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Tags: Sergio Marchionne, auto news, car news, carb zev mandate, chrysler battery cars, chrysler losing money on fiat 500e, chrysler news, electric vehicles, fiat 500e, fiat 500e lose money, fiat news, joe szczesny, marchionne sae, sae, thedetroitbureau
Posted in Automobiles | 2 Comments »
Maker moves fast after Diaz defects to Nissan.
by Joseph Szczesny on Apr.15, 2013
Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne and new Ram Truck boss Reid Bigland.
After unexpectedly losing one of its top brand bosses to Nissan, the Chrysler Group is shaking up its executive lineup, putting new managers in charge at its Ram, Dodge and Fiat brands.
The quick switch following the loss of Ram chief Fred Diaz, appears designed to maintain momentum at a maker that has posted three years of month-over-month sales gains. But while Chrysler might be showing off the “depth of our talent pool,” the shake-up also reveals how a handful of top executives are each being asked to handle multiple assignments in an unusual lean corporate structure.
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“These appointments are part of the Chrysler Group’s strategy to continuously reinforce its leadership ranks as we continue on our path to achieve our business targets,” declared Sergio Marchionne, chairman and chief executive officer of Chrysler Group LLC, in a statement issued Monday morning.
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Tags: Sergio Marchionne, auto news, car news, chrysler execs, chrysler management, chrysler news, chrysler shake-up, diaz nissan, dodge news, fiat news, fred diaz, joe szczesny, nissan news, ram news, reid bigland, thedetroitbureau, tim kuniskis
Posted in Automobiles | 1 Comment »
Are further defections facing Chrysler’s overworked management team?
by Paul A. Eisenstein on Apr.15, 2013
Fred Diaz is shown here during the recent launch of the new Ram 1500 pickup.
Chrysler is scrambling to fill a big hole left in its senior management ranks following the unexpected defection of Fred Diaz, who had been running its fast-growing Ram truck brand. A 24-year Chrysler veteran, Diaz now becomes the new head of sales and marketing for the Nissan Brand in the U.S.
Considered one of the most influential Hispanic business leaders in the U.S., Diaz was one of a small cadre of close confidantes to Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne and helped the Ram brand generate a steady stream of month-over-month sales gains that outpaced the overall U.S. automotive recovery.
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Nissan now hopes that magic can rub off as it sets its sights on achieving a record 10% share of the U.S. market. The Japanese maker also hopes Diaz can help it finally pick up some traction in the light truck market when it launches an all-new version of the Titan pickup a little more than a year from now.
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Tags: Carlos Ghosn, Nissan Titan, Ram 1500, Sergio Marchionne, auto news, car news, chrysler news, diaz titan, fred diaz, fred diaz nissan, fred diaz ram, jose munoz, nissan news, paul a. eisenstein, paul eisenstein, ram news, thedetroitbureau
Posted in Automobiles | 3 Comments »
Marchionne tells shareholders he plans to skip IPO.
by Paul A. Eisenstein on Apr.09, 2013
Fiat/Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne sits on the hood of a new LaFerrari during the Geneva Motor Show.
Almost four years after it took effective control of the then-struggling Chrysler Group LLC, Italian automaker Fiat SpA says it has the cash in hand to complete the acquisition of its U.S. ally — and hopes to complicate the deal in little more than a year.
There had been some question about whether Fiat could complete the deal considering the financial drain it is facing in Europe, where the automotive market has fallen to its lowest level in a quarter century and most automakers are plunging deep into the red. It might be necessary, hinted Fiat/Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne, that the Italian side of the alliance sell off some assets to complete the takeover, however.
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Exactly what the remaining Chrysler stake will cost still depends upon resolution of a legal battle between the automaker and the United Auto Workers Union’s retiree health-care fund. Known as a VEBA, it is now the second-largest Chrysler shareholder, after Fiat. The two sides have reached an impasse over putting a value on the union holdings and a Delaware court is expected to now issue a ruling.
“If we ever reach a deal with VEBA to buy the remaining stake, we have enough cash for it,” Marchionne told investors at the annual Fiat stockholders meeting in Turin today.
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Tags: Fiat-Chrysler, Sergio Marchionne, auto news, car news, chrysler news, fiat alfa, fiat chrysler acquisition, fiat chrysler stock, fiat news, fiat veba, fiat veba stock, paul a. eisenstein, paul eisenstein, thedetroitbureau, vw alfa
Posted in Automobiles | 7 Comments »
Strong demand “North of the Border” offsets other problems.
by Joseph Szczesny on Apr.04, 2013
Oh, Canada! Chrysler takes a rare lead.
Fiat/Chrysler boss Sergio Marchionne has had some tough times lately trying to launch production in China while hoping to revive a faltering deal in Russia. Then there’s the challenge of a crumbling European car market that has hammered the Italian side of the trans-Atlantic automaker – so it’s good to be getting a lift from one corner of the globe.
Chrysler is now the sales leader in Canada, nudging its way in the relatively small market past traditional industry leader General Motors, as well as rival Ford Motor Co. and Japanese giant Toyota. With its strong network of rural dealers, Chrysler’s unexpected dominance “North of the Border” serves to provide some credibility to Marchionne’s ongong efforts to build Chrysler/Fiat into a global power house.
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(It also comes as a point of personal celebration for the Fiat/Chrysler CEO who grew up in Canada.)
Up until now, Marchionne’s efforts, while scoring some impressive results in the U.S., have still been greeted by a large measure of skepticism by analysts who don’t believe the American-Italian company can compete long-term.
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Tags: Jeep Russia, Sergio Marchionne, auto news, canadian auto industry, car news, chrysler canada, chrysler canada #1, chrysler canada sales, chrysler news, europe car sales, jeep cherokee, jeep china, jeep production, jeep toledo, joe szczesny, thedetroitbureau
Posted in Automobiles | 3 Comments »
