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The New Fiat: Sky Is No Limit

Italian manufacturer Fiat is now living in what may be very well considered its best years. The company is engaged in an all out offensive of purchase, alliances and reorganizing, processes which will soon turn it in the biggest car manufacturer on the planet.

After acquiring a 20 percent stake in the now bankrupt Chrysler without paying anything for it (with prospects of taking over completely as soon as the American company repays its debt), Fiat has already confirmed that it's in talks to take over the European branch of the other former Detroit Three power. We say European branch because Fiat is now targeting GM Europe as a whole, not only the Opel asset.

"They're going to be a global powerhouse, I guess. Who would have thought?" Erich Merkle, an independent auto industry analyst in Grand Rapids, Michigan was quoted as saying by Associated Press via theautochannel.com. "They seem to be on a buying binge right now, looking for cheap and distressed assets like Chrysler and Opel." Merkle believes that this campaign might over-stretch the Italian's financial power.

"This is a lot to take on, quite honestly," Merkle said. "When you start looking at Chrysler, it'll make them a very large automaker, but we've seen that large isn't necessarily indicative of success."

Whatever the case may be, Fiat will become a global corporation, with yearly revenues expected to stand at $105 billion in its first years. Fiat seems to have decided to enter markets it is currently not present in at any cost, as it looks to buy GM's South American operations should they not conclude a deal with Opel.

Such an expansion, good for the companies themselves, has placed additional stress on the workers of the targeted manufacturers. Opel's unions don't agree with a takeover by Fiat out of fear of "cannibalism" while rumors about Fiat's plans to cut Chrysler personnel by 6,500 people have left people wonder, as one of our readers said "how we are going to support our families".
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About the author: Daniel Patrascu
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Daniel loves writing (or so he claims), and he uses this skill to offer readers a "behind the scenes" look at the automotive industry. He also enjoys talking about space exploration and robots, because in his view the only way forward for humanity is away from this planet, in metal bodies.
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