Fiat has reiterated plans to announce a new alliance at the end of July.
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“The time has come, we will try to announce it with (publication of) the results of the second quarter [due 24 July],” chief executive Sergio Marchionne told Reuters on Monday at the annual gathering of the country’s stock market regulator, Consob.
Marchionne reportedly also said he hoped to announce a partner for Fiat’s consumer financing arm Fidis Retail by the end of July or the end of the third quarter at the latest.
He reiterated his expectations for the automaker to keep its share of the home market at 30% in June.
Reuters noted that Fiat has already formed a number of alliances, including those with PSA Peugeot Citroen [vans], Ford [small cars] and a third with India’s Tata Motors [SUV].
Marchionne told the news agency he had received all the offers the company needed for Fidis Retail and could announce the winner as early as this month.
Fiat plans to buy back the 51% of Fidis Retail it sold to a group of banks in 2003 and sell it again to a single partner, Reuters noted, adding that though Fiat won’t detail its short list, both BNP Paribas and Deutsche Bank have expressed interest.
The industrial alliances and the search for a Fidis Retail partner are part of Marchionne’s efforts to revitalise Fiat after it suffered its worst crisis earlier this decade, the report added.
