Fiat Chrysler CEO Wanted to Merge With GM: Report
Fiat Chrysler‘s CEO first correspondence with GM’s CEO was to propose a merger.
According to a recent report from The New York Times, Fiat Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne sent a lengthy email to GM CEO Mary Barra discussing a potential merger between the two automakers. Marchionne, who has already taken Fiat and merged it with Chrysler, believes global automakers need to consolidate and save money in order to survive. Marchionne believes that a merger between Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) and GM would save billions of dollars while creating an automotive superpower.
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Two people with knowledge of the incident said that Barra and GM executives along with board members had no interest in meeting with Marchionne, who was flatly turned down. A month later on April 29, Marchionne stunned Wall Street analysts during a routine analyst conference call by sharing his intense appeal for automakers to merge. He added that if traditional automakers weren’t interested, Marchionne would have no fear in turning to other interested parties including Google and Apple, both of which he recently visited. Marchionne also went on the record to say he was impressed with what Elon Musk has done with Tesla after meeting with the American electric automaker.
“I’ve always had this incredible sense of urgency,” Marchionne said in an interview with the The New York Times. “I’ve always had this desire not to let things fester and to really seize the moment, because it’s serendipity.”
[Source: The New York Times]
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Jason Siu began his career in automotive journalism in 2003 with Modified Magazine, a property previously held by VerticalScope. As the West Coast Editor, he played a pivotal role while also extending his expertise to Modified Luxury & Exotics and Modified Mustangs. Beyond his editorial work, Jason authored two notable Cartech books. His tenure at AutoGuide.com saw him immersed in the daily news cycle, yet his passion for hands-on evaluation led him to focus on testing and product reviews, offering well-rounded recommendations to AutoGuide readers. Currently, as the Content Director for VerticalScope, Jason spearheads the content strategy for an array of online publications, a role that has him at the helm of ensuring quality and consistency across the board.
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i think GM and everyone else is allowing FCA to wither on the vine because it's serendipitous
What is he smoking Fiat and Chrysler were both sub par manufacturing entities. GM and Ford are way ahead of them just waiting for them to die.