Noticeably absent from the 2013 Frankfurt Auto Show was Fiat/Chrysler boss Sergio Marchionne, one of the most respected and outspoken executives in the business. His appearances were cancelled at the last minute, driving speculation as to what was so important?
The official line is that he needed to attend to “unforeseen business commitments” and is back in the office in Italy. Reports speculate it has something to do with a pending lawsuit by the UAW’s Retiree Benefits Trust on behalf of Chrysler retirees. The dispute is over what price Fiat is willing to pay for the 16-percent share of Chrysler the trust owns and Fiat has a right to buy. Fiat offered $139.7 million for 3.3 percent of the shares, but the trust thinks they’re worth $343 million and has sued to force Fiat to up the offer. A judge ruled in Fiat’s favor on several points in the case in July, but did not rule on the share price. Fiat wants a ruling by spring, while the trust doesn’t want one until early 2015. The trust is buying time, hoping to force Chrysler into an initial public offering, which they hope will validate their valuation of the shares, or at least exceed Fiat’s. Fiat is opposed to the idea, partially for that same reason and partially because then the company would be listed and traded on two different exchanges under two different names, rather than as one, unified company. The latter is Marchionne’s ultimate goal.
Those markets apparently found this speculation about the reason for Marchionne’s absence compelling, because Fiat’s share price rose six percent after the cancellation of appearances was announced. Or perhaps the markets were concerned he might’ve otherwise said something off-the-cuff to the assembled journalists, driving the price down, and figure silence is golden.
Either way, I hope the traders are right, because things don’t look as rosy from the show floor. Fiat/Chrysler had a poor showing across the board in Frankfurt with virtually no new product to announce. Jeep, Lancia, Alfa Romeo and Maserati didn’t even bother to hold press conferences. Ferrari, which operates fairly independently of its parent company, showed a (rather cool) variant of an existing car. The Fiat brand, meanwhile, showed-off the not-new 500L. Brand president Olivier Francois extolled the virtues of the 500L himself before turning to the matter of Fiat brand’s stability in the market. In what came across as more browbeating than presenting, Francois laid out an elaborate, five-pronged argument about why Fiat brand is actually strong and growing despite media reports to the contrary. After citing Fiat’s foray into America as a triumph despite a botched launch and dealers clamoring for more product, he closed by explaining that Fiat’s image as a cheap and practical brand and anything but premium is all wrong and that we all just needed to realize this. All in all, the lecture reeked of desperation and frustration.
Perhaps it was best for business for Mr. Marchionne, head of a major automotive industry group and of a major global automaker, to skip one of the largest auto shows in the world. I hope so, because the impression from here on the ground is the exact opposite. Fiat/Chrysler needed Marchionne here if nothing more than to put a good face on things in his trademark cool, collected manner. Maybe in the long run business will be better because be was in the office and not at the show. In the short run, the company is suffering for his absence, at least in the public eye.
Analisti e giornalisti non sono d' accordo sulle ragioni per cui Marchionne ha evitato di partecipare al salone di Francoforte. Tutti concordano sul fatto che lo spettacolo offerto dal gruppo Fiat-Chrysler al salone era desolante. Niente modelli nuovi, niente conferenze stampa, Francois che lanciava messaggi che mascheravano disperazione.
Ciferri, capo di automotive news e di solito gran sostenitore di Marchionne, ha avvertito il ceo che con una gamma così vecchia non riuscirà a prendere parte alla ripresa europea. Onestamente io non sono affatto convinto che ci sarà una ripresa nel mercato dell' auto, ma naturalmente con modelli così vecchi e' impossibile imporsi contro la concorrenza e Fiat e' destinata a continuare a perdere quote di mercato.
Mi ha sorpreso il capo di Hyundai, quando hanno presentato la nuova I10 hanno detto chiaramente che puntano a strappare vendite alla Vw up, un giornalista italiano ha ribattuto che la Panda e la 500 sono ancora avanti nel segmento A, il ceo di Hyundai Europa ha risposto che Hyundai deve puntare a battere i migliori non quelli che stanno declinando.