Marchionne Press Conference at Detroit Auto Show

[Fiat500USA]

Fiat500USA.com Has Just Posted the Following:

Sergio Marchionne, FCA CEO, addresses reporters from around the world at the 2018 North American International Auto Show in Detroit. With any luck, we may hear what is going on with the 2018 Fiat 500 for North America. Newsflash: The conference looks to be delayed until approximately 12:15 PM EST. There will be two live press events. The first is 11:30 AM EST and the second is 2:00 PM EST.

Read about it here...

[Daytona 500]

Watched the vid. Very interesting. His answer to the question regarding Fiat in NA goes along with we all have been seeing, and what was discussed in the thread " North American Sales Totals". Having Italian heritage I was happy to see Fiat come back to the US and as an owner I love my car. It is an extension of me and who I am. I read posts on all the forums and it appears most feel the same to varying degrees. I have always been passionate about automobiles and have always been in the automotive business. I am brand loyal, but the concerning part is if I am going to spend my money, back a brand, and be passionate about what I drive, I want to know the brand will be there tomorrow and that they will support their owners. My Abarth lost a majority of its value, at what seems, a much faster rate than most other brands I have owned.
I would like to get 124 Spider, I just dont know FIAT is a smart place to put my money.

[Amacento]

I know FCA needs EVs (Marchionne hates them) and/or econocars (they don't yield much if any profit) in the US to counterbalance the Dodge, Jeep and RAM brands.

I know FCA, like most Western companies, looks almost exclusively at the bottom line when making decisions. The Asians take an almost entirely different approach. Westerners, especially Italian brands, assume loyalty happens out of repetition. Asians, Japanese and Koreans, work hard for brand loyalty and take the onus of ensuring that happens. Western brands are all but abandoning the small car market. Honda, Nissan and Toyota are committed to offering econocars as the gateway to other offerings. Honda based most of their entire JDM & global ranges on their smallest car.

It pains me to see Fiat going through this painful (for fans) process as the company is because their products are intelligently designed. I love Fiats and Abarths... it would far easier to fully support them in Europe. But I know even the "hardcore" vintage Fiat people drive other contemporary brands. Fiat is a religion at weekends and holidays only.

Marchionne's time is nearly over.

[akcapfiat]

That was actually very interesting. I've heard a lot said about Marchionne before, but never heard him speak at length. It's not so much that Marchionne hates electrified vehicles, as FCA has the sober goal to get out of debt and not blow smoke up everybody's tailpipe in the process. I'd like to go back and hear the interview where he fried the designers of the Dodge Dart and Chrysler 200 -- but in general he seemed much less temperamental in general than I would have expected.

His sense about Fiat in the US is that's it not that far off where the company expected it could reasonably end up and they're working on their distribution plans to make it work.

All I can say is that it must cost very little to bring the 500L to the US, as they sell so few and yet just hopped in again for 2018 with a refresh.

[bryanintowson]

I can never not watch this man speak. I am really pleased that he's leading the team at FCA. I believe he means what he says and that he is deeply appreciative of the work from his folks from the shop floor to the executive offices.

Wish we could keep him around forever.

[Fiat500USA]

I'll make a couple of comments. These NAIAS conferences primarily handle just the US/NAFTA side of the business.

As you can see, the primary goal of Marchionne's tenure has been to eliminate the debt and, of course, start making profits. This is evident with how they dropped the Dart and practically brand new 200. As car enthusiasts, we generally focus on the cars and not so much the manufacturing and business side of this industry. A lot of enthusiasts question the delay of product, but the proof is that FCA is on schedule to be debt free this year. It is a phenomenal turn around from a company that only a few years ago carried the most debt of any car company. By the way. Marchionne inherited a Fiat in 2004 that was, after its 105 years, pretty much on death's door. Four years later, the company had its most profitable year ever. Frustrations aside, he knows what he is doing.

Another thing Marchionne does well is he can present his arguments very persuasively. Here are a few articles, many with video conferences for you to enjoy. http://www.fiat500usa.com/search/label/Marchionne

[Southernroadrunner]

Takes a while to read all that but it's informative.

[KellyfromVA]

Of the big three auto maker CEO's, Marchionne brings and interesting perspective. He's a numbers guy, pure and simple. (not that it's a bad thing) Mary Barra became CEO at the "new" GM in an effort to save it from itself. Mary's foward focus has been to improve public relations and fix the remaining brands with a focus on QC and customer service improvement. Alan Mullaly is an engineer by trade, and with that, focused on innovation and increasing the Ford QC and model line up focused on wide demographics. Marchionne, does deals, buy low and widen the brand by scarfing-up distressed brands while they're down. He came in and pulled Fiat out of bankruptcy, then told the Board that if they would let him grab Chrysler, they could bolster Fiat by merging the two struggling companies. He's made good on that promise.

It's interesting to hear him admit that their timing was off with the launch of Fiat, and that their assumptions were just wrong. Unless something changes with the new CEO, sounds to me like he essentially announced that we're about to see less of the Fiat branded cars being available here in the States.

[Daytona 500]

Of the big three auto maker CEO's, Marchionne brings and interesting perspective. He's a numbers guy, pure and simple. (not that it's a bad thing) Mary Barra became CEO at the "new" GM in an effort to save it from itself. Mary's foward focus has been to improve public relations and fix the remaining brands with a focus on QC and customer service improvement. Alan Mullaly is an engineer by trade, and with that, focused on innovation and increasing the Ford QC and model line up focused on wide demographics. Marchionne, does deals, buy low and widen the brand by scarfing-up distressed brands while they're down. He came in and pulled Fiat out of bankruptcy, then told the Board that if they would let him grab Chrysler, they could bolster Fiat by merging the two struggling companies. He's made good on that promise.

It's interesting to hear him admit that their timing was off with the launch of Fiat, and that their assumptions were just wrong. Unless something changes with the new CEO, sounds to me like he essentially announced that we're about to see less of the Fiat branded cars being available here in the States.

Unless something changes with the new CEO, sounds to me like he essentially announced that we're about to see less of the Fiat branded cars being available here in the
States

...And this is what concerns me on various levels, initial cost (over priced), warranty, PARTS AVAILABILITY, and rapid deprecation, to name a few. Not sure I will buy another FIAT. Disappointed to say the least. Still Tried to make a deal on a 124, but the numbers are not working out even with the rebates. In my humble opinion the rebates they are offering right now bring the car down to where it should be price wise to start with.
Sorry for the rant.

[Amacento]

A lot of enthusiasts question the delay of product, but the proof is that FCA is on schedule to be debt free this year. It is a phenomenal turn around from a company that only a few years ago carried the most debt of any car company. By the way. Marchionne inherited a Fiat in 2004 that was, after its 105 years, pretty much on death's door. Four years later, the company had its most profitable year ever. Frustrations aside, he knows what he is doing.

Another thing Marchionne does well is he can present his arguments very persuasively. Here are a few articles, many with video conferences for you to enjoy. http://www.fiat500usa.com/search/label/Marchionne

Chris, as a fellow brand ambassador and servant of the community, I need to respectfully take exception with some of what is quoted. It reads as though Fiat enthusiasts are whiny, impatient and shortsighted. John Elkann inherited FIAT S.p.A. while the company was in a nosedive. He brought Marchionne in to right the course. We’re at year 15.

You, I and likewise committed people have been talking people off a cliff for 2-3 years. Some of Marchionne’s comments suggest jumping could be rational. Consumers cannot be reasonably expected to laud his comments without, at the same time wondering: Does that mean the US was a last ditch effort and not a true play at long-term re-entry into our market?

Elephant in the room? Miscalculation is Fiat Modus Operandi. We have a model range that lacks acceptable, to us, support with 2-3 times the locations of some other brands (in a time technology like DCT and CVT can be less reliable in cold climates). Is the direction of the industry 100% on Fiat? No. But I often wax on about Fiat innovation... some of that innovation results in reliability issues. We all know that. Marchionne said, upon launching FCAUSA, he preferred to have 2 more years of planning and development prior to launching the brand here. We, now, know why... we’re living it. The industry is volatile. Marchionne is out soon. He’s primarily interested in getting that BIG win prior to his exit. That big win doesn’t address consumer concerns — a very unfortunate reality. No one wants to see Fiats exit our market a third or fourth time.