daimlerchrysler

Veramente quando Barilla ha comprato la Kamps in Germania nessun politico o sindacalista tedesca disse nulla. Non ci furono quasi resistenze quando Hypovereinsbank, allora seconda banca del paese ( quindi ben più importante per la Germania di Opel), fu scalata da Unicredit. Probabilmente i dirigenti e i sindacati Opel hanno pessimi ricordi di Fiat dai tempi dell' alleanza con Gm. Tra l' altro ci sarebbe la necessità di spiegare perchè il governo tedesco debba spendere 7 miliardi di euro in un gruppo straniero, sottocapitalizzato, dove l' azionista di maggioranza Exor se ne uscirebbe prendendo i pochi assets di valore come Iveco, Ferrari Maserati e Cnh. I soldi dei contribuenti tedeschi servirebbero per licenziare operai in tutta europa. Piech a proposito della possibile alleanza Opel-Fiat_Chrysler ha detto :"tre malati insieme in un letto d' ospedale non fanno un sano" e " non ci si può aspettare di stabilire un record in una maratona con 3 corridori sciancati" Tra l' altro ancora oggi Marchionne non ha svelato il destino delle fabbriche italiane e sa benissimo che anche se il governo tedesco fornisse i soldi richiesti non basterebbero neanche per far sopravvivere l' azienda più di 3 anni.

Fiat may link with GM units in Europe, Latin America, source says Luca Ciferri Automotive News April 17, 2009 - 4:21 pm ET TURIN, Italy -- Fiat may form an alliance with General Motors' core operations in Europe and Latin America, a source familiar with the matter told Automotive News today. The deal would be on top of Fiat's plan to merge with Chrysler LLC and would create the world's second-largest auto group. The talks with GM are in an early phase, said the source. He said the discussions are not an alternative to Fiat's ongoing negotiations with Chrysler. Together, Fiat, Chrysler, Opel/Vauxhall and GM Latin America sold 7.05 million vehicles in 2008. That would have made it No. 2 in unit sales after Toyota Motor Corp. The deal would not include Saab's and Chevrolet's European operations. General Motors plans to carve out Germany-based Opel and British sister brand Vauxhall into a separate unit. GM CEO Fritz Henderson said today that GM has sent confidentiality agreements to more than six potential investors in Opel/Vauxhall. "More than six people have expressed interest, serious people," Henderson told a news conference. "Many of them are financial players, some of them are industrial players. I would expect that work would get done in the next two to three weeks, so that process has kicked off." A Fiat spokesman declined to comment on a possible link with Opel/Vauxhall and GM Latin America. Turning back the clock The deal would turn back the clock for Fiat and GM. Nine years ago, GM bought 20 percent of Fiat Auto for $2.4 billion. The companies combined their European and Latin American purchasing and powertrain operations in two 50-50 joint ventures. The companies also co-developed the platform that is the basis of the Fiat Grande Punto and the Opel/Vauxhall Corsa small cars, as well as the 1.3-liter diesel engine that powers a number of models produced by the two automakers. The alliance ended in February 2005 when GM paid Fiat $2 billion to cancel a put option that could have forced GM to buy the remaining 80 percent of Fiat. da automotive news.

De Meo wechselt laut Bericht zu Volkswagen Fiat-Topmanager Luca De Meo wechselt einem Online-Bericht zufolge von Turin nach Wolfsburg. Am Montag hatte "Automotive News Europe", Schwesterzeitung der Automobilwoche, exklusiv vom Abschied De Meos berichtet. Unter Berufung auf Unternehmenskreise wird nun berichtet, dass De Meo zu Volkswagen wechseln wird. Der Fiat-Manager Luca De Meo wechselt zu Volkswagen, berichtet "auto motor und sport" online unter Berufung auf italienische Unternehmenskreise. Als Gründe für den Abschied aus Turin werden in dem Bericht unterschiedliche Auffassungen mit Fiat-Chef Sergio Marchionne über die Restrukturierungspläne genannt. Am Montag hatte "Automotive News Europe", Schwesterzeitung der Automobilwoche, exklusiv von De Meos Abschied aus dem Hause Fiat berichtet. Fiat-Chef Sergio Marchionne bedauert laut dem Online-Bericht die Entscheidung De Meos. Er habe aber Verständnis dafür, dass De Meo sich anderen beruflichen Herausforderungen stellen möchte. Da automobilwoche. E' una voce che passi a Volkswagen, l' azienda tedesca non ha confermato.

Luca de Meo wechselt zu Volkswagen Luca de Meo, Chef der Marken Alfa Romeo und Abarth, hat seine Ämter niedergelegt und wechselt zu Volkswagen. Dies wurde jetzt aus italienischen Unternehmenskreisen bekannt. Als Gründe werden unterschiedliche Auffassungen über die Restrukturierungspläne der Marken genannt. Dem 41-Jährige Fiat-Marketingchef und -Geschäftsführer von Alfa Romeo und Abarth wird unter anderem angekreidet, dass er die Marke Alfa nicht genug nach vorne gebracht habe. Die Verkaufzahlen lägen weit hinter den Zahlen der Konkurrenz wie BMW oder Volkswagen . Fiat-Chef Sergio Marchionne bedauerte die Entscheidung De Meos. Er sei enttäuscht über die von De Meo getroffene Wahl, habe aber Verständnis dafür, dass dieser sich in seinem Alter noch anderen beruflichen Herausforderungen stellen möchte. Da auto motor und sport. Le cause delle dimissioni sarebbero divergenze riguardo alla ristrutturazione di marchi del gruppo.

Su bloomberg tv italia hanno annunciato che De Meo è stato asunto dalla Vw. Avete conferme?

Riporto l' intervista di Marchionne da cui erano prese le frasi riportate nel primo post. Marchionne: The party is over Fiat CEO says it is time for auto world's 'Wal-Marts' to totally change way they do business Luca Ciferri Automotive News Europe December 8, 2008 06:01 CET In October, Fiat group reported its best ever third quarter. Its 5.6 percent operating margin was among the highest in the world. At the time, Fiat said its would be profitable next year even if unit-sales volumes in all its sectors fell an average of 20 percent. Things have changed drastically since then. In an interview with Automotive News Europe Chief Correspondent Luca Ciferri, Fiat group CEO Sergio Marchionne, 56, said the industry needs to completely reinvent itself and it needs to do this fast. What is your mood given the current crisis facing the auto industry? I am really gloomy. What we are seeing is unprecedented. I am 56 and I have never seen anything like this. What is wrong? There is not one single thing that properly explains the problem. I recognize and understand parts of the problem, particularly in areas where the system has failed, because we have lived through these things before. But I have never seen the simultaneous failure of this many systems at once. How will this crisis affect western European unit sales in 2009 and 2010? I honestly do not know. It's not that I refuse to make a projection. I just don't have a reliable context in which to make the projection. The elements that go into predicting demand in a normal, rational world are no longer present. So I abstain. What do you mean "abstain"? I abstain from making commitments in terms of volumes. I really do not know how to make a credible assessment for the next couple of years. I am not trying to be an alarmist or to paint a doom-and-gloom picture. I think we'll come out of it. But I think that the traditional, even avant-garde methods of estimating volumes, market share, the effectiveness of marketing drives, the repositioning of brands, all these things, all those elements require that there be at least one or two points of reference that are reliable. [Currently] there are none. As Fiat group CEO, what is your short-term answer to the gloomy scenario? I have totally revised what I will do in the first part of 2009. We're just going to slam the brakes on, use as many temporary layoffs as needed, cut everything back to essentials. I am going to have one week of production between now and the beginning of January. After that we're in the dark because I have no idea what demand will be. None. It's like going swimming but never knowing if you can stand up because the bottom is so unstable that you simply can't tell when you have reached it. Fiat is ready to weather this uncertainty in 2009, but, to be honest, it will not be easy. If you have no idea where the bottom is, what could happen to this industry in the next 24 months? We need to bring people around the table and say: "Look guys, the party is over. Somebody called our bluff and we're not all going to make it so let's fix it." It may be painful. It may be ugly. But if we want to do the right thing for this industry, let's do it now. You need at least 5.5 million to 6 million cars [a year] to have a chance of making money. It is not just the absolute number of cars that matters, but the volume associated with each architecture. Fiat is not even halfway there. And we are not alone in this. So we need to aggregate, one way or another. Our strategy of industrial alliances was a step to get there. But given where demand is now and what we see going forward, it is too slow. Maybe I am completely wrong, but today my gut instinct is to be truly Draconian. By the time we finish with this, in the next 24 months, as far as mass-producers are concerned, we're going to end up with one American house, one German, of size; one European-Japanese, probably with a significant extension in the US; one in Japan; one in China and one other potential European player. That makes six volume automakers. I assume Ford or GM, VW group, Renault-Nissan, Toyota, a Chinese survivor and another European player. How could Fiat fit in? The Wal-Marts of the automotive world, the mass-producers, which is what we are, have to find and agree that there is a new business model required to run our shops. A number of the Wal-Marts of the auto world should quickly realize this business is going to be completely different. It cannot continue as it did in the past. Independence in this business is no longer sustainable. I cannot continue to work on cars on my own. I need a much larger machine to help me. I need a shared machine. So the auto industry will become like computers, where Intel makes the processors for everyone and so on? Yes, and I don't mind being a participant and part owner of the machine. The rest of it I can dress up. I can give it the colors. I can give you that suspension, that engine, that stuff, but at the end of the day, I can't afford to spend half a billion [euros] on doing a platform. It's not that I don't have it. I just cannot stand up in front of a shareholder or any other provider of capital and say that I am going to make a reasonable and certain return on this investment. Those days are gone. How can you move toward a 'common machine' when you still need to develop your future products? I'm putting the brakes on everything. I'm putting the brakes on model development that has not already gone beyond 80 percent or 90 percent. The Alfa 147 [replacement] is coming out, that won't change. But if you ask me if I will invest in a new SUV for Alfa on my own, the answer is: "No!" I would like to get my hands on somebody else's architecture and just put the skin on it. If I can do that for a hundred million euros, I will look like a hero. If we don't end up thinking of this industry as a Wal-Mart industry, we're going to pay the price for thinking we were in the luxury end of the business. The problem with car guys is that they always thought that they were at the upper end of the food chain and, unfortunately, we are all sitting at the bottom. And now the world has told us so. Which players would join Fiat to create the other European global giant that makes up to 6 million units a year? I am looking at the whole world and I am saying: 'This is what I think is going to happen. Do you want to join forces and provide a fix to this problem?' It is no use asking me for names, I won't give you any. How long will it take for the industry to shrink to just six global players? You would probably see the first steps as soon as next year. It may not be pretty. It may not be nice. Some people will lose their right to lead. Some of them have been leaders for a period of time that is well in excess of their capabilities. And that may include me. I am cool and clinical about this. I recognize that the world has changed. To use an idiom, this is the straw that broke the camel's back. Is it really that bad for the industry? I may be wrong about how many [volume automakers] survive, but then it's a quality-of-life discussion, right? You may continue to exist, but is it a quality life? I really think that this industry today has to go through a fundamental re-think about what it does. If it doesn't do it, today's financial markets will have zero tolerance for them. The world of 18 months ago would have allowed them to exist. The world of today will not give them a single inch of room. Time is up. We have tried every trick in the book. We sold financial services. We bought financial services. We sold the supplier base. We took back the supplier base. We have done all the monkey acts corporate life allows you to do. When I got up this morning I said, 'We're going to fix this.' If there are enough smart people out there to get this done, it will get done. When I made those comments about the six global players what I was really talking about was that there is a difference between being a Wal-Mart and being a Neiman Marcus [highly exclusive retailer]. Ferrari can be Neiman Marcus, Maserati can, Porsche can. There is probably another layer of relatively upscale players, but it is limited. And then there is the rest of us, the Wal-Marts of the world. How does your low-cost brand for western Europe fit this vision? It is part of our global rethinking. We are Wal-Mart, but we have been living like Neiman Marcus! The low-cost brand is a natural extension of our market coverage. How will this crisis affect suppliers? It is going to be painful for them, too. We have been rationalizing the supplier base but more needs to be done because we have created these incredibly bad habits. We support the suppliers in this process. We have never forced most of them to clean it up. We went with the wrong supplier base. At Fiat most of the obvious work is done. We have cleaned it up. But much more remains to be done. In November 2006, you said that you planned to hand over your responsibilities as CEO of Fiat Group Automobiles to someone else. I would imagine that plan is on hold. In the middle of this? It's impossible. Does this mean you're starting to really enjoy the auto business again? I have always enjoyed it. But right now the next challenge is even more interesting. I have two objectives. The first is to contribute to finding a permanent fix for this automotive mess. The second is to make sure that Fiat Group Automobiles is safe because it has some good brands and some good people. We need to bring some sense to this industry. The only thing you have to do is look at a chart that shows how much value we have collectively destroyed over the last 20 years. In every normal world, in every industry, if you saw a chart like that the very first thing you would say is: "Give me the names of the guys who did this! I want them all out." But we're still here. We need to get smart and fix it. Otherwise others will do it for us. Let us look at the global financial picture. Given your position as CEO of Fiat group, Italy's largest industrial conglomerate, and vice chairman of UBS, Switzerland's largest banking group, what is happening in the world? All the interventions into the financial system that have been made globally, by the European countries, the US and others, have prevented a financial-world Armageddon. From a financial standpoint, I feel relatively comfortable that the world will not end in the next 12 months. The system will continue to function. What I totally underestimated was the inability of the financial system to do two things: 1. Convince the world the interventions are working. In other words, I bandage the wound and the world sees the bandage and says the body is getting healthy again. That has not happened. There is no recognition the fix has been made. This has had a tremendous impact on business and consumer confidence. 2. Actually fix the financial system. There was a large financial bubble and now that bubble is pretty much gone. We have taken the hits or most of them. Banks continue to call for capital or go bankrupt and they are capitalized or taken over by governments. The system has been regenerated by central bank interventions. Armageddon has been avoided. But if you talk to the banks today they are preoccupied with their own survival. They are much less interested in keeping the industrial- and consumer-system rolling. Do you mean that banks, after being recapitalized, are not resuming normal operations, such as lending money, to keep the system working properly? That's exactly what the problem is. The banks will continue to take money from you. But to reduce their risk exposure they severely tighten their lending practices. The depositor may feel safer because the bank is not at risk and the bank is happy because it has reduced its risk. But all this has triggered a severe credit crunch. Banks are going to be incredibly more selective in what they fund. They are not going to feel any obligation to try to keep Industrial Inc. in service, arguably because their own survival is at stake. But what is making matters worse is that the capital markets are also closing. The ability to raise funding, either debt or equity, through a distribution process in the wider financial markets is severely diminished, and in some cases, non-existent. What about private consumer finance? Private consumer finance is based on your ability to repay. After all that has happened, getting credit is going to become a lot more difficult. We're beginning to screw ourselves into a vicious circle. We're tightening up credit to the point where we are cutting off everybody at the end of the day. We're killing demand. If demand does not exist, I have no reason for being. Whatever I make is not going to be sold. You went through a huge consolidation phase when you worked in the aluminum sector. What lessons from that experience are useful today at Fiat? I was the most profitable player in the aluminum industry at the time that I did the merger [between Alusuisse and Alcan, and eventually Pechiney]. I went into this knowing that if I had stayed alone, I would have paid the price for being a marginal player. Fiat is looking at [this new] world and saying it is going to be a marginal player unless it acts. The obligation for all industry players is to take a very hard look and say, 'How do I deal with the next 20 years? How do I position my business in an industry that needs to be cleaned up? How do I do that?' I am in that mode now. I toni sono piuttoto pesanti. Marchionne si astiene dal fare qualsiasi previsione di volumi di vendite anche a brevissimo termine, sta tagliando o rivedendo tutti i progetti ( ad esempio la 149 è sicura ma il suv alfa è stato bloccato). La parte più interessante dell' intervista è la discussione sull' attuale stato dei produttori di massa. Marchionne candidamente dice che è impossibile per Psa, Mitsubishi, Fiat rimanere indipendenti in queste condizioni di mercato, il consolidamento è necessario. il livello minimo per operare secondo i ceo Fiat è di 5,5 milioni di auto l' anno.

TURIN -- BMW could use Fiat's new C-Evo platform for a larger Mini that would debut about 2015, supplier sources here say. Alfa's replacement for the 147 will be the first car to use the platform next year. The platform will be able to underpin for front- and all-wheel-drive cars. According to sources familiar with talks between the two companies, BMW and Fiat also are discussing: -- The use of Fiat parts or even Fiat's future B-platform for the third-generation Mini, which is due in 2012 or 2013. Fiat will first use the new B-platform for the Grande Punto successor, planned for 2011. The Alfa Romeo MiTo successor will switch to the platform in 2013 or 2014. -- The cross supply of existing and future engines. Talks include a new family of gasoline and diesel engines that Fiat is working on to launch in for 2011 or 2012. The engine family includes 1.6-liter, four-cylinder and 1.2-liter, three-cylinder variants, designed for front-wheel drive applications. -- The possibility for selected Mini dealers in the United States adding a franchise contract for Alfa Romeo. Alfa plans to return to the U.S. in 2010. The Italian brand stopped selling cars in the U.S. in 1995. On July 8, BMW and Fiat jointly announced they had signed a memorandum of understanding for possible cooperation on vehicle architectures and components. BMW brand development head Friedrich Eichiner said in a statement: "We are currently examining with Fiat group possibilities for the joint use of components and systems in Mini and Alfa Romeo vehicles." The carmakers have agreed not to divulge details of the possible collaboration, but they did say results of the talks will probably be achieved by the end of the year. Sources say BMW and Fiat have been studying a technical cooperation code-named Butterfly since late 2007, but if the plan goes ahead, first applications will be years away. "Significant savings for BMW and Fiat could kick in 2011 to 2012 only, when the two companies could begin producing new models sharing common parts," said Jens Schattner, auto analysts at Oppenheim Research in Frankfurt. People familiar to the matter say BMW and Fiat deal is still in an early phase and that both automakers are also talking with other partners on similar technical cooperation agreements. Early this year, BMW and Mercedes-Benz confirmed that they are talking about possible components sharing. Automakers increasingly are cooperating with competitors to reduce investments costs for new models. "The technology landscape completely changed in the last 10 years," said Ralf Kalmbach, who is responsible of the automobile sector at Roland Berger. He said automakers have to invest in hybrid, electric and hydrogen vehicles while, at the same time, also they must continue to invest in improving internal combustion engines. "Even giant automakers cannot do everything alone anymore," Kalmbach said. Paolo Mosole, an auto analyst of Intermonte in Milan, said: "We expect BMW and Fiat each to save 150 million to 200 million euros on the investment side alone, plus additional savings in annual production costs." Schattner estimated that platform and components sharing by BMW and Fiat could generate a volume of up to 1 million units a year. "BMW's main benefit from the alliance with Fiat would be greater economies of scale for the new Mini, compared with the current Mini, which is based on a stand-alone platform," Schattner said. BMW built 237,709 Minis in 2007, according to J.D. Power Automotive Forecasting. Schattner expects the carmaker to produce 280,000 Minis annually by 2010. A main benefit of the cooperation for Fiat would be a new small car platform designed to comply with U.S. standards. BMW successfully sells the Mini in the U.S. Da automotive news

Automotive news parla di un' alleanza con la Bmw su un pianale per la Mini. Fiat, BMW plan small-car alliance BALOCCO, Milan -- Fiat and BMW will cooperate to develop a new platform for small cars, supplier sources said. The platform will underpin the next Fiat Grande Punto and BMW's third-generation Mini. Both cars are due early in the next decade. The two companies are also considering developing a new family of gasoline and diesel engines, sources told Automotive News Europe. Fiat Group CEO Sergio Marchionne said today that the carmaker will announce a cooperation agreement with another automaker tomorrow. "Most likely it will be in the car business," Marchionne said on the sidelines of the press introduction of the 500 Abarth model here. Marchionne did not give any more details on the cooperation. But supplier sources familiar with the matter told ANE that Fiat and BMW will cooperate on a new small-car platform. Fiat already has industrial alliances with other carmakers including PSA/Peugeot-Citroen, Suzuki and Tata. BMW cooperates in Europe with PSA on engine production and the company has a joint venture in China with Brilliance. Automakers increasingly are cooperating with competitors to reduce investments costs for new models.

Lancia "Deltina" - Kleinerer Delta in der Planung Lancia entwickelt eine kleinere Version des neuen Kompaktwagens Delta. Der Wagen soll auf der Fiat Grande Punto Plattform aufbauen. Angepeilt sind jährlich 50.000 Einheiten. Lancia will einen kleineren Delta auf der Plattform des Fiat Grande Punto anbieten, der Projektname lautet "Deltina". Bild vergrößern Automotive News Europe Turin. Lancia entwickelt eine kleinere Version des Kompaktwagens Delta. „Wir glauben, dass es Platz gibt für ein weiteres Modell zwischen dem Ypsilon und dem Delta“, sagte Lancia CEO Olivier Francois der Fachzeitschrift Automotive News Europe (ANE). Francois fügte hinzu, Lancia benötige ein weiteres Modell um das Ziel, die jährlichen Verkäufe auf 300.000 Einheiten bis 2010 zu verdoppeln, erreichen zu können. Francois bezeichnete das Projekt als "Deltina", dem italienischen Begriff für einen kleineren Delta. Der Wagen soll auf der Fiat Grande Punto Plattform aufbauen. „Beim Design haben wir nach unserer Meinung das richtige Produkt. Jetzt arbeiten wir an der wirtschaftlichen Machbarkeit”, sagte Olivier. Der Delta wird ab diesem Monat in Italien verkauft, in Frankreich und Spanien erfolgt der Verkaufsstart im Juli. In den anderen europäischen Staaten ist der Wagen auf der verlängerten Fiat Bravo-Plattform ab September bei den Händlern. Lancia will davon rund 70.000 Einheiten pro Jahr verkaufen. Nach Angaben von Insidern könnten vom „Deltina“ jährlich etwa 50.000 Wagen abgesetzt werden. Da automobilwoche.de Francois ha dichiarato che lancia sta pensando ad un nuovo modello tra la Ypsilon e la Delta da fare su base Grande punto. Attualmente il design sarebbe pronto e il marchio sta calcolando un business case.La produzione di questo modello sarebbe di 50.000 unità.

Fiat builds a second Tychy With Polish plant full, Italian carmaker looks to Serbia for more output TURIN -- Slightly more than half a century ago Fiat signed an historic licensing agreement that permitted Zavodi Crvena Zastava -- or Red Flag Plant in English -- to begin automobile production in Serbia. That was 1954. Today, the Italian automaker is getting ready to return to Serbia, but with radically different ambitions. At the end of April, Fiat and the Serbian government signed a memorandum of understanding to transform the aging plant in Kragujevac into a modern car-production facility that will provide Fiat with a hub for low-cost minicars and small cars. If all goes well, by 2010 Fiat will be turning out 300,000 cars a year in Kragujevac, 140km southeast of Belgrade. More output needed Fiat is already building cars in central Europe. Tychy, located in southern Poland near the border with the Czech Republic, is the group's largest car plant in Europe. Next year, it will build 530,000 units, up from slightly more than 500,000 this year. Tychy will then be operating at maximum capacity. The Polish plant is the sole manufacturing center for the aged Fiat 600, the new 500 and Panda minicars. In September, Tychy will also begin manufacturing the successor to the Ford Ka. Knowing that Tychy would reach its limit, Fiat started looking for a second manufacturing plant in central Europe. The reasons are: -- Fiat needs more capacity to build models based on the A-platform to keep its lead in Europe in minicars -- Fiat needs more capacity to add a new low-cost model, currently called the B-compact, to its lineup. The car will be aimed at the world's emerging markets -- Fiat's goal is to build more cars in low-cost countries. Positioned in the center of what used to be Yugoslavia, Serbia is an ideal location to supply western, central and eastern European markets. The road network will have to be improved, but the country can be easily reached both from the east and the west. ENLARGE The Kragujevac plant in Serbia. EU access In addition, Serbia, which is not a member of the European Union, has agreed with the 27-nation bloc that it can export to the member countries without paying duties. Once Fiat completes the modernization of the Kragujevac plant at a cost of about €700 million, the facility hardly will be recognizable. It will also produce vastly different cars. In the past, Fiat models built by -- and badged -- Zastava were destined mainly for Serbia and neighboring countries. This time, more than 95 percent of Kragujevac output will be exported, said Alfredo Altavilla, vice president business development at Fiat Group Automobiles. Fiat will own 70 percent of a new company created to run the plant. The Serbian government will own the rest. The new company will invest €700 million to revamp Kragujevac. Zastava chronology 1853: Founded as a cannon-casting plant 1930s: Ford trucks assembled for the Yugoslav Army 1955: Assembly starts on Fiat models such as 1100B, 1400 and 600 1965: 6,000 cars exported to Poland 1980: Fiat 127-based Zastava 102 debuts. It becomes the Yugo 45, the only Zastava sold in the US 1988: Debut of Zastava's 1st proprietary model, the Giugiaro-designed Florida hatchback 1989: Production peaks at 180,950 units 1992: Trade sanctions imposed by UN halt exports and disrupt parts supply 1999: NATO aircraft bomb plant during the war in Kosovo 2000: Trade sanctions lifted, production resumes but capacity is reduced to 60,000 units a year Low wages Through incentives and tax breaks, the Serbian government will contribute about €200 million. Fiat's motivation in going back to Serbia was no different from its reasons for moving into Poland 20 years ago: low labor costs. Wage costs in Serbia are only half of what they are in Poland. Polish wages are a fraction of what they are in Italy, industry experts say. Said Fiat group CEO Sergio Marchionne: "Over time, Kragujevac will become our second Tychy." Fiat will build two low-cost models in the revamped Kragujevac plant: the new entry-level Topolino minicar and the B-compact range. Serbia will be the sole production center for the Topolino. Based on the A-platform used by the 500 and Panda minicars but shortened to 3150mm in length, the new Topolino will seat four people and debut late next year. Kragujevac will also become the manufacturing center for central and eastern Europe for the new B-compact range, which will debut in 2010. Currently under development at Fiat's technical center in Brazil, the B-compact range includes a hatchback and a station wagon to replace the Palio world-car family. In Kragujevac last week, Altavilla said: "We will produce here two new models that will be exported all over the world." Da automotive news europe

Per quanto riguarda l' acquisizione di scania la spiegazione è facile. Il settore dei veicoli commerciali grandi è molto ciclico ma anche molto redditizio. Basta pensare che Daimler trucks la divisione dei veicoli commerciali della Daimler ( sprinter e bus esclusi) guadagna 2 miliardi di euro l' anno. Vw era assente da questo settore e adesso si trova ad avere il 68% di Scania e il 30% di Man ( che oltre a bus e a camion costruisce motori e mezzi agricoli). Man e Scania sono piuttosto regionali ma sono fortissime nell' europa dell' est dove c' è il boom e assenti nel mercato Nafta attualmente in forte crisi. Per quanto riguarda la questione Porsche-Vw è tutto più complesso. Partiamo dal fatto che dal 1960 secondo la legge Niedersachsen Vw beteiligung nessun azionista può esercitare più del 20% di diritto di voto qualsiasi partecipazione azionaria abbia. Vw è caratterizzata anche da una fortissima partecipazione sindacale nella gestione del business anche più elevata rispetto agli alti standard tedeschi. Nel settembre del 2005 Porsche giustificò il suo ingresso in Vw affermando di voler proteggere il proprio fornitore da acquisizioni ostili da parte di fondi stranieri. Se è vero che allora nell' azionariato vw c' erano hedge fond inglesi con partecipazioni forti ( arrivavano al 15%), in realtà essi non condizionavano il business Vw. Dietro c' era il desiderio di Piech ( nipote di Porsche dal lato materno, il padre Anton Piech era il capo dello stabilimento di Wolfsburg nella II guerra mondiale) di appropiarsi di un' azienda che sentiva di famiglia. Difatti appena entra Porsche in Vw iniziano guerre di potere ( c' erano già, Vw non è mai stata un' azienda normale) e dopo un anno il ceo Pischetsrieder deve abbandonare. Porsche ha necessità di Vw per ridurre la sua media di consumi e poi da quando è entrata nell' azionariato il valore delle azioni è passato da 43 euro a 180 e passa. Ci sarebbe da fare un lungo discorso sulle diverse fazini che adesso stanno partecipando alla guerra interna.

Se conosci la lingua tedesca ti sono d' aiuto siti come handelsblatt.de o capital.de dove ci sono lunghi articoli su queste aziende. Io le seguo da appassionato da parecchio tempo. Porsche possiede poco più del 30% di Vw e entro ottobre supererà il 50% anche se permane il diritto di veto della bassa sassonia finchè la Germania non modificherà la legge Vw come la commissione europea le ha ordinato. Volkswagen possiede il 30% di Man e il 38% di Scania ( ma con possibilità di voto del 68% quindi maggioranza assoluta) che è riuscita a conquistare qualche mese fa. In realtà Vw era entrata nell' azionariato di scania già nel 2000 ma era solo l' azionista di maggioranza relativa. Scania dovrebbe essere consolidata nel gruppo vw entro il terzo trimestre 2008. Se hai bisogno di qualche altra informazione mandami un messaggio privato.

Hier is ie ”De nieuwe Audi Q5” | ..:: AudiBlog.nl

Articolo di automotive news europe De Meo's new task: Fix ailing Alfa Analysts doubt anyone could double sales at Fiat-owned sports car brand by 2010 TURIN -- Luca De Meo is used to tough assignments from his boss. In 2004, Fiat group CEO Sergio Marchionne asked the then-37-year-old executive to turn around the struggling Fiat brand. De Meo succeeded. Marchionne’s newest task for De Meo appears to be even more daunting. The new Alfa CEO must double the struggling carmaker’s sales to 300,000 units by 2010. Making things even tougher for De Meo is that Alfa’s main plant will be shut down for the first two months of the year. That means production could drop to 140,000 this year. De Meo is the first person to run all of Fiat Group Automobiles’ main brands -- Fiat, Alfa and Lancia -- at some point in his career. “Alfa Romeo is clearly a great challenge. There are difficulties, but also opportunities ahead -- and I am optimistic by nature,” De Meo told Automotive News Europe in an interview. Bad results Alfa’s operating loss has been shrinking 2007: €220 million 2006: €250 million 2005: €280 million Source: Analyst estimates De Meo’s doubters Marchionne, who appointed De Meo to run Alfa in December following the resignation of Antonio Baravalle, said, “The commitment, passion and determination with which Luca De Meo faces great challenges is the best guarantee for Alfa Romeo’s relaunch plan.” Analysts, many of whom didn’t think that De Meo could fix Fiat, doubt that Alfa Romeo’s sales goal can be reached by 2010. -- “I do not think even Marchionne still believes this target is achievable. The new management and financial resources he is pouring in demonstrates he knows he needs much more to take Alfa there,” said Max Warburton, European auto analyst at UBS’ office in London. -- “We believe this target will be very hard to reach, as the new product plan for Alfa Romeo features a new B-segment car, but the launch of the new 149 (expected to be the brand’s top seller) has been postponed until 2009, and the Alfa 159 is performing below expectations,” said Marco Cristofori, an equity analyst at Cheuvreux in Milan. -- “We see Alfa at 250,000 units by 2010, but generating just 3 percent in operating margin, thus well below Fiat Group Automobiles as a whole, for which Marchionne had set a 4.5 percent to 5.3 percent margin target for 2010,” said Jens Schattner, senior analyst at Oppenheim Automotive Research in Frankfurt. Despite the doubts, Marchionne told ANE last month that he will not change his targets for Alfa Romeo. ENLARGE Production of the Alfa Romeo 159 -- the brand’s top seller in 2007 -- has been stopped until March. The other challenges Boosting sales to 300,000 is not the only target De Meo has been asked to achieve. He also is expected to make the chronic money loser profitable. Fiat Group Automobiles does not report individual results for its brands, but financial analysts polled by ANE say Alfa loses about €1 million per working day. De Meo starts his tenure at Alfa at a rough time. The automaker’s plant in Pomigliano d’Arco, southern Italy, will be closed January and February. Pomigliano, which makes the Alfa 147, 159 sedan, 159 Sportwagon and GT coupe, accounts for 91 percent of Alfa’s output. The shutdown will cost Fiat €40 million in missed revenues. In addition, parent Fiat will pay €70 million to update the plant’s assembly lines and retrain its 5,000-person staff. The plant will switch to Fiat’s so-called World Class Manufacturing system. It is the automaker’s interpretation of Toyota’s legendary Toyota Production System. The aim of both systems is to reduce waste, cut costs and improve quality. The automaker does not comment on the performance of individual plants, but sources say Pomigliano ranks as one of the company’s worst factories. It is plagued by absenteeism and erratic quality -- on average each vehicle made in Pomigliano has more than 10 defects, sources say. Alfa’s problems Some of the issues De Meo faces -- Main plant closed until March -- Losing €1 million a day -- Poor sales of the 159 -- Bad results in customer polls Unsatisfied customers Fiat is not satisfied with the quality of the models built in the plant. Neither are customers. Alfa Romeo scored below the industry average for customer satisfaction in surveys done by J.D. Power and Associates for Germany, France and UK this year. In the UK, Alfa ranked 31st out of 33 brands. While De Meo waits for production to resume in Pomigliano he will work on the marketing strategies for the launch of the Alfa Junior small car and automaker’s return to the US. The Junior, a three-door hatchback based on the Fiat Grande Punto, is Alfa’s first small-segment car. It will compete against the Mini when sales start in September. De Meo, who also is Fiat group’s chief marketing officer, successfully positioned the new Fiat 500 as an upscale minicar. With the Junior, he must find a way to keep sales high without hurting the car’s profit margin. Alfa wants to sell 75,000 Juniors a year. The sales goal for the last four months of this year is 15,000 to 20,000 sales. Alfa will return to the US in late 2009 after a 14-year absence. Without being more specific, Fiat says Alfa should reach 20,000 annual sales in the short term and 50,000 units in the medium term. Marchionne told ANE last month that 20,000 units will not be enough for Alfa to make a profit. Said Marchionne: “Including all the elements of the re-entry, the re-positioning of the brand, the advertising and marketing support, [Alfa’s return to the US] will cost between €70 million and €100 million.” To the rescue? These are the new models Alfa Romeo is counting on to help it double sales by 2010 Name: Junior Role: Entry in small car segment Type: 3-door hatchback Power: 95hp-230hp Price: From €16,000 Volume: 75,000 Due: September 2008 Name: Possibly 149 Role: Replace 147 Type: 5-door hatchback Power: 120hp-265hp Price: From €18,000 Volume: 85,000 Due: Spring 2009 Name: 8C Spider Role: Variant of 8C Competizione Type: 2-seat softtop with rwd Engine: 4.7-liter 450hp V-8 Price: More than €190,000 Volume: 500 Due: Summer 2009 Name: C X-over Role: Entry in SUV segment Type: 5-door Price: €28,000-45,000 Volume: 42,000 Due: Mid-2010 Name: Possibly 169 Role: Replace 166 Type: 4-door sedan Price: €40,000-55,000 Volume: 15,000 Due: Late 2010 Source: Company

Fiat CEO says Daimler alliance talks continue, rejecting reports MILAN (Thomson Financial) - Fiat SpA CEO Sergio Marchionne said talks on possible alliances are continuing with Daimler AG, rejecting recent reports on an interruption. Neither company had previously commented on German magazine reports last weekend that Daimler did not see sufficient cost savings from platform sharing with the Italian auto constructor. "The talks with Daimler go forward, as with other constructors," said Marchionne in comments to reporters. "Daimler has never denied officially to have interrupted its contacts with us, it is a newspaper that has written that," he said. Fiat has previously said the talks with Daimler are wide-ranging, with reports saying it includes a wide range of car segments and on engines. On the possible acquisition of a minority stake in Autovaz, Marchionne said the Russian company needs refinancing. Fiat is looking at the possibility of increasing production in the country "because the Russian market is very big," he said. Secondo Marchionne i colloqui non sarebbero stati interrotti.

Fonte bloomberg che riprende un articolo da auto motor und sport Mercedes in Partnership Talks With Fiat, BMW, Auto Motor Says By Jeremy van Loon Oct. 9 (Bloomberg) -- Daimler AG is in discussions with Bayerische Motoren Werke AG and Fiat SpA over a possible partnership to develop the next generation of its small cars, Auto Motor und Sport reported. Daimler Chief Executive Officer Dieter Zetsche has discussed the plan with BMW leader Norbert Reithofer and Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne, the magazine said in a preview of its next edition. Part of the partnership would involve using a BMW Mini or Fiat Grande Punto platform for future coupe and cabrio versions of the Mercedes A-Class. Other joint projects would include sharing electric motor technology and small-engine development, the magazine said.

L'amministratore delegato di volkswagen italia ha parlato di 27.000 euro per la benzina base, in belgio la 2.0 tdi 140 cv parte da 29.300 euro.

Le casse piangono direi proprio di no. http://www.volkswagenag.com/vwag/vwcorp/content/en/the_group/key-figures.html Fatturato 2006 in salita dell´11,6%, utili netti a 2.750 milioni di euro (vicini al record del 2001 di 2,9 miliardi di euro). Numeri confermati anche in questo semestre http://www.volkswagenag.com/vwag/vwcorp/info_center/en/talks_and_presentations/2007/07/Lamborghini_Poetsch.-bin.acq/qual-BinaryStorageItem.Single.File/Mr.%20Poetsch.pdf pagina 3 e 4. Certo vw ha ancora molto da risanare dal punto di vista dei costi industriali ( e probabilmente non lo fará dato che il nuovo management é stato eletto col fondamentale sostegno dei sindacati.) peró é molto ben posizionato in quasi tutti i mercati mondiali e dopo anni di discesa delle quote le sta riguadagnando. Inoltre la futura fusione Scania Man assicurerá alla Vw un pezzo importante del redditizio mercato dei veicoli commerciali distanziando sul mercato europeo le varie daimlerchrysler, volvo e iveco.

Nel 2001 vw realizzó profitti operativi nel mercto americano per 1,8 miliardi di euro. Dal 2003 é in perdita e nel 2004 e nel 2005 ha perso quasi un miliardo di euro l´anno.Nel 2006 ha perso "solo " 608 milioni di euro e nel 2008 prevede il pareggoi.

Record deliveries: Volkswagen Group sells more than three million vehicles world-wide in first half of 2007 Increase of 7.8 percent over same period last year The Volkswagen Group delivered 3.09 million vehicles to customers globally in the first six months of 2007, an all-time sales record for the company for the first half of a year. This corresponds to an increase of 7.8 percent over the same period last year. Group deliveries from January through June 2007 in Europe rose by 3.7 percent to 1.86 million vehicles, 1.62 million of which went to Western Europe (1.3 percent increase). This more than makes up for the 3.7 percent decline in Germany, the largest single market, where 515,000 vehicles were delivered. The 238,000 vehicles sold in Central and Eastern Europe produced an increase of 22.8 percent. The Volkswagen Group sold 502,000 vehicles in the Asian-Pacific region, 20.9 percent more than in the first half of last year. The deliveries in China alone grew by 24.6 percent to 431,000 vehicles. Sales developed positively in the first half of the year on the American continents as well. The Group’s deliveries to customers in South America rose by 27.7 percent to 339,000 cars, of which 260,000 went to Brazil, generating 28.6 percent growth there. In North America, the sale of 263,000 vehicles produced a rise of 3.1 percent, whereby the USA registered 2.8 percent growth with 163,000 vehicles. Volkswagen brand, the largest-volume member of the Group, delivered 1.8 million vehicles in the first half of this year to customers throughout the world, 7.4 percent more than in the same period last year. Audi likewise registered a substantial growth of 9.8 percent in sales and 509,000 deliveries. Skoda made a powerful improvement of 13.2 percent with 311,000 cars. Seat delivered 222,000 vehicles, registering a slight decline of 1.8 percent. Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles significantly increased sales by 8.4 percent to 233,000. Bentley made a strong gain of 18.8 percent to more than 5,600 cars sold; with 1,200 sales, Lamborghini grew by 29.7 percent; and Bugatti by 131.3 percent to 37 cars. Continua lo stato di grazia per il gruppo Volkswagen. Viene segnato un nuovo record di vendite oltre i 3 milioni nel primo semestre e secondo Winterkorn VW riuscirá a raggiungere i 6 milioni quest anno. Tutto ció mi sorprende non poco, i due marchi principali audi e VW hanno gamme relativamente vecchiotte ( A3 4 anni, A6 3 A4 addirittura 7, Golf 5 anni, Polo ormai 7) ma continuano a stravendere. La situazione é cosí rosea che Winterkorn ha pubblicamente elogiato i suoi ex rivali a capo della VW Bernhard e Pischetsrieder. Certo la situazione negli usa é ancora difficilissima con market share al 2% e perdite milionarie ( ma fino a qualche anno fa miliardarie). Forse si puó dire che VW sia definitivamente uscita dalla crisi e che possa di nuovo rilanciare la sfida a Toyota? Forse, dipenderá molto dai conti annuali di quest anno e del 2008 e dall´eventuale combinazione Man-Scania-VW che permetterebbe a VW di superare Daimlerchrysler e volvo come primo produttore europeo di veicoli commerciali. Inoltre per stessa ammissione di Winterkorn in questi anni si ritornerá ad un forte aumento della spesa per i prodotti una della cause scatenanti della crisi di inizio anni 90 ( Phaeton Bugatti Lupo 3l etc..)

Dopo anni di crescita la Bmw é ad un bivio. Secondo alcuni analisti sarebbe dannoso allargare ulteriormente la gamma e c´é il timore che la Mini possa andare in perdita a causa dell´unicitá del modello inglese rispetto alla gamma bmw ( trazione anteriore, motori e pianali specifici). Secondo alcuni analisti volvo ( l´unico marchio in attivo del pag della Ford) potrebbe aiutare nei segmenti inferiori la Mini e nei segmenti tipo suv e berline medie la stessa Bmw.

Volkswagen Group delivers record of 1.47 million vehicles in first quarter 2007 All brands report increased sales – Strong rise in China Wolfsburg, April 17, 2007 – The Volkswagen Group delivered more vehicles to customers during the first three months of 2007 than in any previous quarter. The Group sold 1.47 million vehicles worldwide, corresponding to a 7.9 percent rise compared with the same period in the previous year. “We were more than able to compensate for the expected drop in sales in Germany as a result of increased VAT by rises, some of them quite considerable, in other key world markets. An important success factor is the very pleasing growth on the Chinese market,” Prof. Dr. Martin Winterkorn, Chairman of the Board of Management of Volkswagen Aktiengesellschaft, commented. “All brands contributed to these excellent results, confirming that the Group is in a good position to master forthcoming challenges and that we will meet our sales targets for this year in spite of difficult market conditions.” Despite the “VAT dent” on the German domestic market, deliveries to customers in Western Europe rose by 1.9 percent to 777,000 vehicles. The effect of advance purchases at the end of 2006 gave rise to a 4.9 percent decline in deliveries in Germany during the first three months of 2007 to 235,000 vehicles. The Group registered the strongest increase in Central and Eastern Europe, where sales rose by 25.9 percent to 109,000 units. The Group’s most important growth market was China, where market leadership in the passenger car segment was impressively confirmed by 203,000 vehicles delivered and vigorous 23 percent growth. Developments in the South America/South Africa region were equally positive: 188,000 vehicles delivered represents an increase of 21.5 percent. This strong rise was chiefly accounted for by the Brazilian market with 120,000 vehicles (plus 21.4 percent). In the USA, the Group sold 73,000 units, representing slight growth of 0.7 percent compared with the previous year. Volkswagen Passenger Cars, the core brand, delivered 850,000 vehicles worldwide in the first quarter of 2007. This corresponds to an increase of 6.8 percent. Here, too, the main growth market was China with 177,000 vehicles sold, representing a rise of 22.3 percent. In South America/South Africa, deliveries to customers rose by 21.8 percent to 157,000 units. Most of this increase was attributable to Brazil, where sales of 101,000 vehicles represented a rise of 21.4 percent. In Western Europe, sales by the Volkswagen brand fell by 3.3 percent during the first quarter to 354,000 units, chiefly due to the 10.8 decline on the German market to 112,000 vehicles. In contrast, there was strong growth in Central and Eastern Europe, where sales increased by 28 percent to 31,000 vehicles. In the USA, sales of 50,000 units represented a 5.6 percent decline in the number of VW models delivered to customers compared with the same period in 2006. Page 2 Audi again reported a strong increase in worldwide sales during the period January to March 2007, delivering 248,000 vehicles, an increase of 9.4 percent. Key growth markets were China with a 27 percent rise (24,000 vehicles), Central and Eastern Europe with a 39.7 percent increase (10,000 vehicles) and the USA (21,000 vehicles, a rise of 17.6 percent). In Deutschland, the 6.9 percent decline to 56,000 vehicles was compensated by overall growth in Western Europe, where deliveries increased to 172,000 vehicles (plus 5.3 percent). The Skoda brand also continued its success story during the first quarter of 2007, increasing deliveries by 15.5 percent to 150,000 units. Contrary to the market trend, sales in Germany increased by 20.6 percent (28,000 deliveries), while the figure in Western Europe was 86,000, an increase of 14.7 percent. On its domestic market of Central and Eastern Europe, Skoda sales rose by 20.5 percent to 53,000 units. During the first three months of 2007, Seat delivered 108,000 vehicles to customers worldwide, an increase of 1 percent. The main impetus came from strong growth of 24.5 percent (6,000 deliveries) on the Central and East European market and a 1.6 percent rise (96,000 vehicles) in Western Europe. There was a further increase in worldwide deliveries to customers by the British superpremium brand Bentley. First-quarter growth totaled 20.4 percent, with 2,800 vehicles delivered. The Italian super sports car brand Lamborghini sold 527 vehicles during the period January to March 2007. This represents a rise of 54.1 percent compared with the same period last in 2006. Bugatti delivered 18 vehicles worldwide during the first three months of 2007, an increase of 260 percent compared with the same quarter in 2006. The Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles brand reported record figures for the quarter, delivering 110,000 vehicles to customers, an increase of 10.6 percent. Growth was chiefly due to a 20.6 percent rise in South America/South Africa to 23,000 vehicles. Central and Eastern Europe also reported vigorous growth, with sales rising 41.5 percent to 9,000 units. There was also strong growth of 8.4 percent to 68,000 vehicles on the West European market, with Germany accounting for 27,000 units – a 1.6 percent rise. Eccezionale performance di vendita del gruppo VW nel primo trimestre: nonstante gli alti numeri dello scorso anno il gruppo continua a progredire anche se non e´ in una fase di prodotto eccezionale ( Skoda sta lanciando la nuova fabia, audi ha sul groppone una A3 di 4 anni, la a6 di 3, la A4 di 7, seat sconta una ibiza ormai datata e il marchio VW ha lanciato tutte le sue cartucce nel 2005). Incredibili soprattutto i risultati di audi e skoda, bisogna anche tener conto che nel primo trimestre del 2007 le vendite sul mercato tedesco sono crollate.