Photo: thedetroitbureau.com
All European automakers are feeling the strain of the tense economic situation currently sweeping the continent. However, aside from the Wolfsburg giant, VW, who seems to be doing OK, for the given conditions, all other manufacturers are having to adapt to this new way of doing business, having to do it or risk going out of business.
Now, the CEO of Fiat, the outspoken Sergio Marchionne has reportedly approached Peugeot, in order to try to convince the French automaker to form some kind of merger to keep everything afloat. However, the deal apparently also had a third wheel - Opel, which apparently Fiat was very interested in buying, if they also got $5- to $7- billion to restructure the entire company.
Marchionne almost seems desperate, having talked to Peugeot, Opel, Volvo, Suzuki and Mazda so far, to try and find the ideal partner to get through these difficult times. Now, if Fiat, Peugeot and Opel were to merge, they would account for 25% of the entire European market share, thus beating VW 24.8% share by a very small margin. This grouping together would, however, offer stability to all three companies, despite the fact that the quality and identity of their products would undoubtedly suffer.
Story via Bloomberg
Marchionne almost seems desperate, having talked to Peugeot, Opel, Volvo, Suzuki and Mazda so far, to try and find the ideal partner to get through these difficult times. Now, if Fiat, Peugeot and Opel were to merge, they would account for 25% of the entire European market share, thus beating VW 24.8% share by a very small margin. This grouping together would, however, offer stability to all three companies, despite the fact that the quality and identity of their products would undoubtedly suffer.
Story via Bloomberg
Google News