Turin, Italy – Movie lovers will remember Divorce, Italian Style, the hilarious comedy starring the one-and-only Marcello Mastroianni. Rest assured, we do not intend to talk about divorce or even comedy but rather of a suspense thriller whose happy ending will mean the survival of major local employer and the arrival of a “new” car manufacturer on the North American scene.
The headline-making alliance between Fiat and Chrysler has prompted us to head to Turin, to the Fiat Group headquarters, in search of answers.
Our first discussion was with Richard Gadeselli, Vice President Communications for the Fiat Group, and head of Fiat UK.
Auto123: North America has not heard the name Fiat in a while and most people in the general public still do not know who Fiat is. Why is that?
R. G.: I must say I am somewhat surprised that people in North America should know so little about the Fiat Group. We happen to operate 19 factories on the continent, notably with Case New Holland, the agricultural and building machinery manufacturer employing some 15,000 workers. In Canada, the CNH plant is located in Saskatoon. As for the world scene, Fiat Group operates 203 plants located in 50 countries, from Poland, Turkey and Serbia to China, Japan and Latin America. You will also find our Magnetti/Marelli electronic and electronic components on a number of American vehicles and we do expect this proportion to increase substantially following our alliance with Chrysler.
Auto123: We all know that the “merger” between Chrysler and Daimler has ended in failure. What makes you believe that the proposed alliance between Fiat and Chrysler will succeed?
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| Fiat Group operates 203 plants located in 50 countries.(Sevel Nord - Valenciennes ) |
The headline-making alliance between Fiat and Chrysler has prompted us to head to Turin, to the Fiat Group headquarters, in search of answers.
Our first discussion was with Richard Gadeselli, Vice President Communications for the Fiat Group, and head of Fiat UK.
Auto123: North America has not heard the name Fiat in a while and most people in the general public still do not know who Fiat is. Why is that?
R. G.: I must say I am somewhat surprised that people in North America should know so little about the Fiat Group. We happen to operate 19 factories on the continent, notably with Case New Holland, the agricultural and building machinery manufacturer employing some 15,000 workers. In Canada, the CNH plant is located in Saskatoon. As for the world scene, Fiat Group operates 203 plants located in 50 countries, from Poland, Turkey and Serbia to China, Japan and Latin America. You will also find our Magnetti/Marelli electronic and electronic components on a number of American vehicles and we do expect this proportion to increase substantially following our alliance with Chrysler.
Auto123: We all know that the “merger” between Chrysler and Daimler has ended in failure. What makes you believe that the proposed alliance between Fiat and Chrysler will succeed?
 |
| Fiat 500 |