Fiat Chrysler ‘very open’ to mergers, partnerships, joint ventures

Fiat Chrysler CEO Mike Manley has confirmed the carmaker is "very open" to working with other manufacturers in essentially any form, as he looks for "any deal that would make Fiat stronger".

Speaking with Automotive News at the Geneva motor show, he confirmed he's "very open" to working with other car makers in any way, shape or form, and is amenable to "any deal that would make Fiat stronger".

“I want to find areas where cooperation — whether it is partnerships, whether it’s joint ventures or whether it is deeper levels of equity cooperation that makes sense for us and whoever that is — [will] give better vehicles to our customers and a better return to our shareholders,” Manley said.

When informed about Manley's comments, Carlos Tavares, head of the PSA Group told Bloomberg his company would "love to discuss with people who are looking for deals".

The PSA Group owns the Peugeot, Citroen, DS, Opel and Vauxhall brands, and has successfully returned Opel/Vauxhall to profit after almost two decades of bleeding red ink under GM's stewardship.

FCA is currently in process of spinning off its parts unit, Magneti Marelli, and merging it with Japanese rival Calsonic Kansei in a deal worth around €6.2 billion ($10 billion).

Thanks to slowing demand in key global markets, especially China, and the need to invest in electric car technology and self-driving vehicle systems, automakers have been eager to partner up.

Ford and Volkswagen recently announced they would share van and ute platforms, and are currently discussing co-operation in the EV and autonomous vehicle spheres.

Elsewhere BMW and Daimler have merged their mobility divisions, while BMW and Toyota have worked together on the next-generation Z4/Supra, and are also collaborating on hydrogen fuel cell technology.

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