Rumors have been circulating for the last few days now that Fiat is close to inking a deal for a majority stake in General Motors Opel/Vauxhall brands, but neither automaker has confirmed those reports. However, a German official has spoken behalf on all parties involved, revealing Fiat is on the short list of suitors for Opel/Vauxhall.
Roland Koch, the governor of the German state of Hesse, revealed to The Detroit News that “Magna (an Ontario, Canada-based automotive firm) and Fiat have joined this list of possible partners†for Opel/Vauxhall.
No other details were given about the negotiations, but it is now clear that Fiat is vying for a majority stake in Opel and its sister Vauxhall brand. Some reports have suggested a deal could be reached within the next week.
The confirmation also puts into question Fiat proposed alliance with Chrysler. The two automakers have just one week to finalize a deal or Chrysler will likely be forced in Chapter 7 liquidation.
04/23, 2:48 PM
posted by:
Borat
There is no questions on ChryCo alliance. Why FIAT would bargain and dicker with UAW, CAW and others, when they can purchase for pennies on a dollar facilities they like postmortem and hire whom they want after demise of ChryCo. FIAT is in great position as a technology provider to others (Ford, PSA) and Opel would be great find for them: another outlet of their technology in different sheet metal.
04/23, 2:52 PM
posted by:
Ed103
Opel/Vauxhall has more promising cars then Chrysler, but combining forces with Chrysler would give Fiat easy access to the American market. Working with Opel/Vauxhall provides more of what they already have-European customers.
04/23, 3:05 PM
posted by:
oldraven
It is my opinion that LLN spends far too much effort reporting on rumours, when 9 times out of 10 it ends up being a load of BS.
04/23, 3:14 PM
posted by:
johnnycanuck
That’s very interesting that Magna’s name has been thrown into the mix here, but I suppose they don’t call themselves Magna International for nothing.
Has anyone heard anything come out of the UAW/CAW Fiat/Chrysler love fest yet?
04/23, 3:24 PM
posted by:
parts guy
ED:You are correct that the Opel/Vauxhall connection doesn’t help Fiat with distribution, but if they buy Saturn too, it does.
As for the Magna thing, I find it interesting as it hits very close to home. I’ll be watching very, very closely.
04/23, 3:26 PM
posted by:
eal2009
Opel/Vauxhall will equal a FIAT purchase of Saturn. FIAT would have a ready made dealer network
to put future FIAT models in, and until those FIATs are ready for the USA. They would already have product for now.
04/23, 6:56 PM
posted by:
inspire
Not sure what Opel will add to the Fiat line up. Opel is based out of Europe … as is Fiat. What added benefit will this union add to the bottom line?
I can see why Fiat would want in on Chrysler — entry into the US … dealer network … technology into Jeep / larger vehicles. That makes sense. Not sure if getting a deal done before filing Chapter 11 (or Chapter 7?) is announced is better than waiting for the house of cards to implode on itself and picking up the pieces for cheap. Then again … once things unfold, there is no control on how it will fall into place. If you make the deal before Chapter 11 filing, you have control on the terms of the agreement.
04/23, 7:52 PM
posted by:
andy
johnny, magna is the worlds largest automotive supplier and were in the mix for buying Chrysler back in the fall, and are developing their own electric car
04/23, 10:54 PM
posted by:
thesun
How ironic! In 2005, GM paid Fiat $2 billion to terminate the option contract to acquire Fiat Auto. Now, Fiat is taking that money and grabbing Opel away from GM. As to why Fiat would want Opel…how awful were Lambos in terms of quality before Audi got involved??? Can’t hurt Fiat to try! Especially when they are literally using someone elses money!
04/24, 3:06 PM
posted by:
Scarface03
As others have noted, I think the dynamic here is pretty clear: with Chrysler, Fiat gets a dealer network, and with Opel/Vauxhall, Fiat gets pretty much the best small to mid-size platforms that GM has come up with in years, and with GM being what it is these days, I’m sure the going rate for Opel/Vauxhall is a pretty good bargain. Fiat specializes in even smaller cars, so O/V could be a pretty good pickup.
I disagree, however, with the comment the buying O/V is the same as buying Saturn. I think buying the Saturn brand might be a much bigger cross to bear, and certainly Fiat wouldn’t need the dealer network of both Chrysler AND Saturn–that would likely be biting off more than Fiat can chew. There’s probably a reason why Saturn was NOT packaged in with the talks–even though there’s lots of tech sharing between Saturn and O/V, they are two still very different companies.
I agree, thesun, that it is very ironic that Fiat is now shopping around for U.S. car companies when 4 years ago GM couldn’t wait to be rid of them. Just goes to show you that it is possible to do something right in the auto world. More ironic is that GM was entirely justified to fork over the $2 billion, because FIat was hurting. Now, Fiat is much better and they are poised to keep up that trend….