A Chinese auto maker’s expressed interest in Fiat Chrysler Automobiles FCAU 2.57% NV’s Jeep division has given a boost to the Italian-U.S. car company’s stock price, but has yet to materialize on the desk of Sergio Marchionne.
Fiat Chrysler’s boss, the longest-tenured of Detroit’s chief executives, doesn’t have much time to wait around.
Mr. Marchionne, 65 years old, is planning to step down in early 2019. He is scrambling to craft a survival plan—to be disclosed early next year—for an auto maker that is at its most profitable point since Chrysler emerged from a 2009 bankruptcy but doesn’t have the resources to develop electric cars or keep up in the autonomous-vehicle race.
Mr. Marchionne has been pessimistic about traditional car makers’ ability to survive the transition to fully electric and autonomously driven vehicles. He has been looking for a larger rival to acquire Fiat Chrysler, and in recent months has taken steps to adapt to the rapid pace of change facing the industry, including joining a BMW AG-led consortium on self-driving cars.
If Mr. Marchionne’s survival plan fails, analysts say the company and its biggest shareholder—a Netherlands-based holding company for Italy’s wealthy Agnelli family called Exor NV—might be forced to break FCA into pieces. In a note on Wednesday, Jefferies Group said exiting the mass-market auto segment should be “a strategic priority for Exor,” which holds 42.6% of Fiat Chrysler’s voting rights.
Source: Fiat Chrysler CEO’s Search for a Partner Is Running Out of Time – WSJ
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