Fiat/Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne inspects the Belvidere Assembly Plant.
Already controlling a majority of Chrysler stock, Italian automaker Fiat SpA expects to further increase its holdings in its U.S. partner by mid-summer, according to the man who serves as CEO of both manufacturers.
Meanwhile, Chief Executive Sergio Marchionne told reporters that there is a possibility Fiat might find opportunities to further expand its nascent relationship with Japan’s Mazda Motors. The two manufacturers announced plans to jointly develop a pair of affordable roadsters this week.
One possibility is that Fiat or Chrysler might produce vehicles for the Japanese maker which is abandoning the suburban Detroit assembly plant it long ran in partnership with former ally Ford Motor Co.
“I would be willing to build Mazdas anywhere in the world where we have capacity,” including Chrysler plants,” said Marchionne, after leading reporters on a tour of the Belvidere, Illinois assembly plant now building the new Dodge Dart.
Since leading bankruptcy protection three years ago, Chrysler has come increasingly under the control of Fiat. The Italian automaker received a 20% stake for overseeing the U.S. maker’s emergence from Chapter 11. And it has steadily increased that stake to 58.5%, in part by paying off Chrysler’s federal loans and meeting a series of additional targets – including bringing to market a version of the Dart that will get over 40 miles per gallon.
Marchionne has repeatedly hinted he would like to boost that stake to 70% or more, and he told reporters at the Belvidere plant that could come as early as July by purchasing an additional 3.32% of Chrysler’s stock now owned by the UAW Retiree Medical Benefits Trust – known as a VEBA.
The union currently owns 41.5% of Chrysler stock but is expected to sell off much, perhaps all, of that to broaden its asset base and reduce future problems funding retiree medical care.
Marchionne’s visit to the Illinois assembly plant marks the formal launch of the Dodge Dart, seen by many as the most important test of the Fiat/Chrysler relationship to date. It is the first vehicle sold by the American maker to be developed off a modified Fiat platform – in this case one used for the Italian maker’s Alfa Romeo Giulietta model.
That platform is expected to eventually be used on a number of Chrysler compact and midsize products, something Marchionne signaled by telling reporters, “There is no doubt, there will be one more car coming to the Belvidere plant.”
The Belvidere facility already produces several Jeep models but went through a major expansion in order to add the Dart. Much of the investment went to ensure the quality of the new vehicle, Chrysler intent on overcoming its reputation for poor quality.
(For more on Chrysler’s plans to boost Dart quality, Click Here.)
Might Chrysler also add a Mazda on the Belvidere line? Marchionne wouldn’t say, but he strongly suggested he was open to expand the new alliance.
Fiat announced this week that it would cooperate with Mazda on the development of the next-generation MX-5 Miata roadster. A version of that 2-seater will be sold by the Alfa Romeo brand and is expected to be part of the line-up that will be used during Alfa’s long-delayed return to the U.S. market.
The new partners have said each roadster will feature distinct styling and use different powertrains. Mazda’s will be powered by that maker’s new SkyActiv technology will Fiat is likely to go with a version of the MultiAir engine used in the little Fiat 500.