After a meeting with Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti, Fiat-Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne released a joint statement that said the company is considering using the under-capacity Fiat plants in Europe to build some Chrysler- and Jeep-branded vehicles. These vehicles would then be exported to markets outside of Europe.
The meeting itself was meant to address concerns that Fiat may close down at least one plant in Italy because of too much supply and not enough demand, MotorAuthority reported. European car sales are down in general, with record lows not seen for nearly the past 40 years.
Multiple Italian factories are at 50 percent or less of their ideal output potential. There is little chance of the European market returning to health until at least 2015, Marchionne and other big wigs in the industry believe. As such, if the plants aren't made to build cars for export, they will likely need to be shuttered.
An unnamed source believes this could result in Chrysler and Jeep models for the U.S. market to be built at the idled Fiat factories, though no other details were revealed. Such a move may even be subsidized by the Italian government in financial or other ways to help keep jobs intact.
