Fiat Chrysler and Peugeot owner PSA are in talks to combine in a deal that could create a US$50 billion automaker. The announcement could be made this same week.
The former chief executive of carmaker Fiat-Chrysler, Sergio Marchionne, has died in hospital in Zurich aged 66. He was replaced four days ago when his health worsened following complications from surgery on his right shoulder.
Shares in Italian car giant Fiat have jumped more than 15% following the announcement of its plan to buy the remaining 41% of Chrysler it does not own. Fiat has owned a majority stake in the US company since 2009.
Italy’s carmaker Fiat is upping its stake in Brazil, pouring about 7 billion dollars into local investments by 2016, according to a plan its CEO Sergio Marchionne handed President Dilma Rousseff on Monday.
Fiat and Chrysler Group president Sergio Marchionne said on Monday that car sales in Latin America saved the corporation’s balance sheet last year and announced an overall increase in car sale operations in accordance with regional demand.
Chrysler anticipated that by the second quarter it will have repaid bailout loans worth more than 7 billion US dollars given by the US and Canadian governments. The auto group said it would pay back the bailout by June with loans from investors.
Italy’s Fiat Industrial, through its affiliate CNH, will set up a plant in Argentina to manufacture powerful combines and specialty tractors destined for the Latin American market. The plant will create some 600 direct and 1,500 indirect jobs, CNH said in a statement on Tuesday.