Fiat will present a revised version of its industrial plan to unions later this month, chief executive Sergio Marchionne reportedly said on Wednesday.
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“We will meet the unions by the end of June, and on that occasion we will present an updated industrial plan,” he told Reuters on the sidelines of a meeting in Turin – the news agency noted he did not say whether the plan would be group-wide or just deal with the core automotive business.
Reuters said media have speculated over the past week that a new plan is afoot at Fiat, which has tweaked its strategy almost every year since it tumbled into a crisis in late 2001 – most of the changes have revolved around the sale of non-core assets in order to raise money to pump into the loss-making auto unit and plans to invest more and launch more models to revive sales.
According to Reuters, some newspapers have said Fiat might now pull together its whole automotive business – from tiny Fiat Pandas to sporty Ferraris – into one unit and spin it off from the rest of the company, which includes bulldozers, publishing and banking.
The news agency said La Repubblica reported on Wednesday that Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi might back a plan to put Alfa Romeo, Maserati and Ferrari together and spin off Fiat and Lancia.
Reuters noted Marchionne has said he is looking to sign joint ventures with other car makers to save on research and development costs.
Some investors and media reportedly have speculated that another auto group, probably from Asia, might buy a big stake in Fiat Auto, but analysts doubt it would be worth Fiat’s while to sell while the car unit is still in loss and its future is uncertain.
Reuters said much of Fiat Auto’s return to profit – due in 2006 – will depend on the launch of the new Punto later this year, the model that makes up about a third of the group’s car sales.
