The new company formed by the merger of Fiat and Chrysler, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV, is to be based in London according to reported remarks made by Fiat and Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne at a press conference in Auburn Hills. Marchionne also reportedly said that his office and the board would be based in London.
Bloomberg noted that while Fiat Chrysler had long planned to have a fiscal domicile in the UK for tax purposes, it hadn’t selected a specific city as HQ.
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Fiat’s home is in Turin while Chrysler is headquartered in Auburn Hills, Michigan, near to Detroit.
“The board, my office and some of my functions need to operate out of London,” Marchionne said during the press conference, Bloomberg reported.
“That doesn’t mean that I’m giving up my operational responsibilities of the US,” he added, according to Reuters. “We will be multi-faceted…we will do stuff everywhere.”
Some analysts said that the move makes sense given London’s status as an international financial centre and it would be a neutral choice that avoids the potential internal turmoil if the new merged company were to pick Auburn Hills or Turin as a new HQ.
See also: ANALYSIS: Decoding FCA’s future model plans
