Fiat Raises Chrysler Ownership To 58.5 %

Fiat hit performance hurdles that allow it to increase its ownership in Chrysler from 53.5% to 58.5%. The the United Auto Workers union’s retiree health-care trust holds the balance of the shares

Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne want to merge the two companies in 2014. He should be careful about whether he gets what he hopes for.

The last large transatlantic merger between Daimler and Chrysler was a failure. Daimler eventually dumped Chrysler on private equity firms. There was not expected “synergy” between the two companies. That would have involved joint production, R&D, and design.

Marchionne believe that he can use the Chrysler network to sell Fiats in the US. The Italian cars have never sold well here. That may continue. The reaction to the new Fiat 500 which was recently introduced into the US is tepid.

Marchionne has forecast the the two firms will sell 6 million cars worldwide by 2014. Current sales levels mean the goal will be hard to reach.