Chrysler LLC Chairman Robert Nardelli called informal meetings with Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne “positive” in a letter to the Auburn Hills, Michigan, automaker’s employees. Marchionne had traveled to Auburn Hills from Turin, Italy, to discuss plans for Fiat to acquire a 35 percent stake in Chrysler in exchange for access to Fiat vehicle platforms.
All is “contingent on meeting the viability plan required of us by the U.S. Treasury,” Nardelli said.
Comments from leaders at both Chrysler and Fiat have been optimistic, though firm plans have not been announced. Still, at a dealer’s convention in Detroit, Chrysler hinted at what North American buyers could expect to see come from the alliance – including a handful of Fiat-engineered, Mexican-assembled, Chrysler-badged small cars, as well as genuine Fiat and Alfa Romeo products.
