Fiat (Page 10)

The key roadblock preventing Fiat SpA from possessing their desired 51% of the Chrysler Group is the amount of debt owed to the US and Canadian governments but the American automaker announced this morning that they will be paying off the entirety of these loans – freeing up Fiat to make the final moves to have their majority stake in the Chrysler Group.

Fiat today unveiled the 2012 500c Convertible car at the 2011 New York Auto show with two models: the Pop and Lounge.

Chrysler and Fiat Sergio Marchionne has stated since shortly after the merger of the two companies that he wanted for Fiat to own 51% of the Chrysler Group by the end of 2011 and while there has been some speculation as to when that number will be reached, Fiat could own 46% of Chrysler as soon as June.

Chrysler Corporation announced this morning that the company has reached the second of three performance requirements set by the government, allowing Fiat to raise their ownership of the Chrysler Group from 25 to 30%.

The Chrysler Group has announced their first work stoppage due to the Japanese earthquake, tsunami and nuclear crisis as the Detroit automaker has cut planned overtime at the Brampton, Ontario and Toluca, Mexico production facilities in an effort to conserve electric components sourced from Japan.

Fiat and Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne wants Fiat SpA to increase ownership of the Chrysler Group from 25 to 51% by the end of 2011 and if new reports are correct, Fiat could increase their stake in Chrysler by 5% in the coming weeks.

March sales numbers are in and with a gain of 31%, the Chrysler Group leads the US auto industry in terms of year over year sales growth among major automotive groups.

Motor Village LA is one of Chrysler’s newest projects, combining all five of their American-sold brands in one (immaculate) LA-based dealership but according to the California New Car Dealers Association, Motor Village LA is in violation of California law that prevents automotive manufacturers from owning dealerships within 10 miles of any other related dealership.

Reports indicate that the 2012 Fiat 500 Cabrio (convertible to most in the US) will make its grand debut for the North American market at the 2011 New York International Auto Show starting in late April.

A while back, Detroit’s Cobo Hall hosted the 2011 Detroit Autorama, offering Motor City show-goers a chance to check out some of the best looking cars from around the area and around the country but amidst the crowd of garage-kept trailer queens, Team Detroit Racing brought out a spread of great looking high performance cars.

According to comments made by Jeep CEO Mike Manley, the Trail Rated American automaker is working on a new sub-compact “B-segment” sport utility vehicle based heavily on modified, existing architecture from the Fiat brand that we can expect to see hit the market for the 2013 model year.

The Fiat brand has been turning heads in the US as the Italian compact makes its return to the American market but as the 2011 Geneva Motor Show opened this morning, Fiat is turning heads with a sexy coupe concept based on the 2012 500 with help from Zagato.

This past Friday, Chrysler Group LLC issued a 300 page report to the US Securities and Exchange Commission pertaining to the first full calendar year of the automaker under new parent company Fiat and included in that SEC filing was the new that Chief Executive Officer Sergio Marchionne received no cash payments in 2010.

Today at a media event at the Chrysler Tech Center, Fiat brand CEO Laura Soave stated that the US brand rollout is behind schedule as we rapidly near the date that the company had hoped to have the bulk of their new Fiat dealerships up and running.

While the Fiat 500 is not priced like many high fashion luxury brands, the Italian automaker is all about style and that aspect of the modern Fiat brand is accentuated by the 2012 Fiat 500 by Gucci.

The Chrysler Group has announced that they expect their dealer network to move 1.57 million vehicles in 2011 – a lofty 44.6% increase over the final sales results for the company in 2010.

While speaking in San Francisco this past weekend, Chrysler and Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne referred to the multibillion dollar loans from both the US and Canadian government as “shyster loans” – comments which the auto boss now regrets.

Speaking before a group of the media today at the J.D. Power and Associates International Automotive Roundtable, Fiat and Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne stated that the Chrysler Group and Fiat Auto could become a single company, possibly based in the United States.

Exchange Traded Funds (ETF) cover just about every industry and sector except the one that is growing by leaps and bounds in emerging markets - the global auto industry.

As the Egyptian nation finds itself in the throes of civil unrest, the investors in their auto industry watch with great angst how Mubarak handles the situation.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced today that California officials have scrapped their plans to issue state-specific standards in March.

General Electric (NYSE: GE), a major contributor to technology and financing that affects the auto industry, broke out to the upside on a surprise Q4 earnings report.

One look at Fiat at the 2011 Detroit Auto Show and you wonder when there will be a Fiat that runs on natural gas. Surely, the company led by Sergio Marchionne has the technical leadership experience and now the American brand identity with Chrysler.

Last year marked the first time in years that the Fiat brand showed a vehicle at the Detroit Auto Show but 2011 marked the Detroit debut of the new Fiat 500 as a production model.