How has Fiat become such a powerful force in global car production?

Archived Articles | 04 May 2009 | EWR

Stephen Foley, The Independent

Why are we asking this now?

A Canadian-trained accountant who made his career as an executive in Swiss business met with German politicians yesterday to discuss merging the Italian car maker he runs with a string of ailing rivals with operations in the US, the UK and Sweden, amongst other places.

Sergio Marchionne's empire-building would look ambitious to the point of insanity at the best of times, let alone during the worst of times for the car industry. But then if you were to learn that Mr Marchionne runs Fiat, and that his mega-merger scheme would turn the little Turin company – once given the derisory nickname "Fix it again, Tony" – into the world's second-largest producer of cars, you might conclude that the world really has been turned on its head by the financial crisis.

Is this a serious plan?

The complete article is here:
http://www.independent.co.uk/n...

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