The Time Marchionne Has Prepared For

Over the past several years we’ve seen two of the three Detroit automakers turn things around from the detrimental economic upheaval of 2008, but one has still faced struggles during the past decade.

Chrysler eventually became part of Fiat and is now part of the Fiat Chrysler Automotives family, which includes several brands under this automotive group umbrella. During that time, we’ve seen the company make several changes and transitions in order to become a company that would be lucrative and attractive to a buyer of the future which could eventually take the reins and makes this group of brands become successful and profitable again.

As the CEO of FCA, Sergio Marchionne has been working hard to make the FCA brands more attractive to a potential buyer and now it seems there may be several interested parties. The most recent news is that a Chinese automaker might be the one that chooses to take over the company and provide the funding and support needed to take this company toward a successful venture over the next several years. So far, the offers that have come in for FCA have been rejected as being too low because the amount was only slightly higher than the market value of the company.

What Will a New Company Gain?

After Ferrari was sold off with its own IPO last year this is one part of the FCA family that is no longer part of the equation. This leaves Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, Ram, Fiat, Maserati, and Alfa Romeo as part of the group that could be sold, but there seem to plan for something to be done with a couple of these brands as well.

The Maserati and Alfa Romeo brands will follow along a similar path as Ferrari and be sold off as separate entities, but the rest of the brands will be part of this purchase should it take place. This would bring the most money for the sale to the holding company Exor, which is controlled by the Agnelli family and is the company that owns the rights to the FCA brands.

For the past couple of years, Marchionne has been working to find a partnership or a purchaser for the company. Two of the names we’ve known that could have become the right choice for the purchase were General Motors and Volkswagen, but it seems the rest of the automotive world could be where this company is shopped and sold.

Making the Company Ready for Sale

In order to prepare the company for sale, FCA has been streamlining the models offered by some of the brands to cut the slow-selling models. This is why we no longer see the Chrysler 200 or Dodge Dart on the market and why Jeep combined the two SUVs at the bottom of the brand into one excellent vehicle. Will this company end up in the hands of the Great Wall Motor Co. or another Chinese name? Certainly, FCA will be sold to the highest bidder, which right now could be any one of at least four Chinese companies unless another name emerges in the near future.