BLOG: Luca Ciferri
With Mazda, Alfa may have the right partner for a Spider revival
Posted 12:01 am U.S. ET, May 23
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Fiat and Mazda plan to jointly develop a new roadster for Alfa and Mazda based on the Miata/MX5 platform. The move should help Fiat Group's sports-car brand lift flagging sales. Al ...
Continue reading "With Mazda, Alfa may have the right partner for a Spider revival" » May 23, 2012 12:01 am U.S. ET
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VW keeps cool in Beijing by planning ahead
Posted 12:01 am U.S. ET, April 25Regardless of the weather, the temperatures inside most halls at the Beijing auto show are either uncomfortably hot or absolutely oppressive. One exception during this year's show was Volkswagen Group's new pavilion, where the well-prepared Germans avoided broiling visitors by making an excellent decision.
Warned by local officials that the massive ...
Continue reading "VW keeps cool in Beijing by planning ahead" » Apr 25, 2012 12:01 am U.S. ET Post Comment | Permalink
Fiat, Marchionne aim for fresh start in China with Viaggio
Posted 9:48 am U.S. ET, April 23BEIJING -- Fiat is late to China, but it is ready for a new start with a new partner, Fiat-Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne said on the sidelines of the Beijing auto show on Monday.
"We re-start from scratch after two jump starts, but now we have the right partner and the right product," Marchionne said.
Fiat tod ...
Continue reading "Fiat, Marchionne aim for fresh start in China with Viaggio" » Apr 23, 2012 9:48 am U.S. ET Post Comment | Permalink
Despite economic woes, Europe isn't yet a cheap car market
Posted 12:01 am U.S. ET, March 20New-car sales in Europe are expected to decline about 5 percent to 7 percent this year, but they are off to an even worse start in the first two months.
In February, sales fell 9.2 percent to 923,381 in the EU plus Switzerland, Norway and Iceland compared with the same month in 2011, according to industry association ACEA.
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Continue reading "Despite economic woes, Europe isn't yet a cheap car market" » Mar 20, 2012 12:01 am U.S. ET Post Comment | Permalink
GM should follow Ford, not tie up with PSA, to fix Europe problems
Posted 12:01 am U.S. ET, March 15TURIN, Italy -- General Motors' main weakness in Europe is its money-losing Opel/Vauxhall unit, which needs a quick and radical restructuring. To make the fix, GM CEO Daniel Akerson should borrow from Ford boss Alan Mulally's One Ford strategy rather than join forces in a loose tie-up with a struggling PSA/Peugeot-Citroen.
By doing this, GM would u ...
Continue reading "GM should follow Ford, not tie up with PSA, to fix Europe problems" » Mar 15, 2012 12:01 am U.S. ET Post Comment | Permalink
GM-PSA deal looks a lot like failed GM-Fiat pact
Posted 5:30 am U.S. ET, March 1The alliance between General Motors and PSA/Peugeot-Citroen mirrors the deal GM made with Fiat back on March 13, 2000.
Back then, the mantra was: "Allies on costs, competitors in the marketplace." The wording in Wednesday's announcement by GM and PSA was essentially the same: "Each company will continue to market and sell its vehicles independently ...
Continue reading "GM-PSA deal looks a lot like failed GM-Fiat pact" » Mar 1, 2012 5:30 am U.S. ET Post Comment | Permalink
Marchionne reveals a Fiat secret
Posted 12:01 am U.S. ET, Feb. 2Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne on Wednesday revealed a long-kept company secret: how much Fiat's automotive unit lost in Europe in a particular year, which was 500 million euros in 2011. Why make the number public now? Probably to underline a point Marchionne has been making for years, which it that Europe's profit-killing overcapacity threatens the future of the automotive industry here.< ...
Continue reading "Marchionne reveals a Fiat secret" » Feb 2, 2012 12:01 am U.S. ET Post Comment | Permalink
Why Turin and Detroit are worlds apart
Posted 12:01 am U.S. ET, Jan. 16After a week in unseasonably warm, uncharacteristically upbeat Detroit, I am back home in the outskirts of Turin where the temperatures are frigid and the economic outlook is downright depressing.
The week's first serving of pessimism for Europe came from investment bankers at Goldman Sachs. They see the following for western European new-car sales ...
Continue reading "Why Turin and Detroit are worlds apart" » Jan 16, 2012 12:01 am U.S. ET Post Comment | Permalink
U.S. Jeep plant shows smart way to cut costs in Europe
Posted 12:01 am U.S. ET, Jan. 13European automakers that are struggling to find new ways to cut costs to cope with fading domestic markets should take a look at a successful year-long experiment done in Toledo, Ohio.
Chrysler Group's plant there operates 10 hours a day four days a week to build the Jeep Liberty SUV (previously sold as the Cherokee in Europe).
Continue reading "U.S. Jeep plant shows smart way to cut costs in Europe" » Jan 13, 2012 12:01 am U.S. ET Post Comment | Permalink
Ford and PSA numbers give a glimpse of Europe's problems
Posted 12:01 am U.S. ET, Nov. 9You see how painful it is to be a mainstream automaker in Europe at the moment when you dig into Ford and PSA/Peugeot-Citroen's latest financial results.
From July to September, Ford of Europe increased new-car sales by 5 percent to 357,000 units and revenues by a 25.8 percent to $7.8 billion.
Boosting unit sa ...
Continue reading "Ford and PSA numbers give a glimpse of Europe's problems" » Nov 9, 2011 12:01 am U.S. ET Post Comment | Permalink
Without Marchionne, where would Fiat be today?
Posted 12:01 am U.S. ET, Oct. 26Second-guessing Sergio Marchionne’s management of Fiat has become commonplace in Italy, where he faces nearly as much criticism from detractors as the country’s national soccer coach. Many people think they could have done a better job at Fiat than Marchionne, but Giuseppe Volpato is not one of them.
“We should ask ourselves: Wher ...
Continue reading "Without Marchionne, where would Fiat be today?" » Oct 26, 2011 12:01 am U.S. ET Post Comment | Permalink
