Fiat/Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne sits on the hood of a new LaFerrari during the Geneva Motor Show.

Almost four years after it took effective control of the then-struggling Chrysler Group LLC, Italian automaker Fiat SpA says it has the cash in hand to complete the acquisition of its U.S. ally — and hopes to complicate the deal in little more than a year.

There had been some question about whether Fiat could complete the deal considering the financial drain it is facing in Europe, where the automotive market has fallen to its lowest level in a quarter century and most automakers are plunging deep into the red. It might be necessary, hinted Fiat/Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne, that the Italian side of the alliance sell off some assets to complete the takeover, however.

Exactly what the remaining Chrysler stake will cost still depends upon resolution of a legal battle between the automaker and the United Auto Workers Union’s retiree health-care fund. Known as a VEBA, it is now the second-largest Chrysler shareholder, after Fiat. The two sides have reached an impasse over putting a value on the union holdings and a Delaware court is expected to now issue a ruling.

“If we ever reach a deal with VEBA to buy the remaining stake, we have enough cash for it,” Marchionne told investors at the annual Fiat stockholders meeting in Turin today.

The executive did suggest there may be a need to “monetize assets” to complete the deal but declined to say what he had in mind. The idea of floating a separate IPO for the highly valued Ferrari subsidiary is one possible option, though Marchionne has so far avoided putting that on the table. The Volkswagen Group has expressed repeated, strong interest in purchasing the Alfa Romeo brand, though Marchionne has so far forcefully ruled that out.

Other alternatives could include a stake in the MagnettiMarelli car parts business, or the remaining 2.8% stake the Italian automaker holds in Fiat Industrial SpA. It spun off the truck and farm equipment unit in 2011.

Ironically, since taking control of control after its 2009 bankruptcy, the financial situation of the two companies has significantly changed. Chrysler reported 2012 earnings jumped nearly nine-fold, to $1.66 billion, while the maker’s fourth-quarter profit was up 68%, to $378 million. That helped keep Fiat from reporting an estimated loss of Eur 1.04 billion last year on its own operations. Losses on the maker’s own brands came to $916.7 million nonetheless for 2012.

But the 60-year-old Marchionne is still looking to boost Fiat’s trading profit by almost 20% this year, to Eur 4.5 billion.

The two makers are expected to see an “inevitable” completion of their alliance by June 2014, Marchionne indicated. That would be almost precisely five years after the Chrysler bankruptcy was completed – while also marking his 10^th anniversary as Fiat CEO.

The Italian maker currently holds 58.5% of Chrysler stock and the VEBA controls the remaining 41.5%. The terms of the 2009 federal bailout lay out the sequence in which Fiat can attain the health-car trust’s outstanding holdings. But while union officials have indicated their desire to sell out and diversify the trust’s financial base they are demanding a significantly higher payout than Fiat has so offered. The courts are expected to issue a ruling in June.