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Former Chrysler dealers could reopen under appeals court ruling

Years after the bankruptcies and subsequent bailouts of Chrysler (now FCA) and General Motors, the automotive industry is still seeing legal decisions about them come through the courts. The latest ruling from a US appeals court has given 4 of the 789 dealers that Chrysler closed in its Chapter 11 process one less hurdle towards reopening. Following the bankruptcy, 105 of the shuttered dealers went through an arbitration process in hopes of reopening, and 32 won their arguments. However, a victory in that undertaking didn't necessarily mean that the stores could reestablish themselves. For these three showrooms in Michigan and one in Las Vegas, state laws allowed nearby competitors from the same automaker to stand in the way of restarting, according to Automotive News. This problem brought yet another lawsuit, and a US district court found that the arbitration decisions did not overrule state laws. The latest appeals court ruling overturned that decision. However, as with many legal proceedings, the process for reopening for these dealers still isn't exactly easy. The latest decision only covers the nearby dealers' ability to protest; it doesn't mandate FCA actually to open the stores again. According to a statement from Michael Palese of FCA legal communications to Automotive News, the ruling, "did not provide for reinstatement of the dealers who prevailed in arbitration, but only gave them a right to a 'customary and usual' letter of intent." It means for these showrooms to start selling again, now they need to work things out with Chrysler's new owner.

Jeep and Ram could be spun off from FCA, says Marchionne

Jeep is surely the biggest single feather left in the cap of the Fiat Chrysler Automobiles portfolio. Under Sergio Marchionne's leadership, Jeep went from fewer than 500,000 annual sales in 2008 to 1.4 million in 2016, and is on track for 2 million by 2018. Add in the brand's legacy, status as one of the most recognizable nameplates in the world, and rabid fan base, and Jeep has extraordinary monetary value to its parent company. Investors and analysts have certainly noticed Jeep's inherent value. According to The Detroit Free Press, Morgan Stanley's Adam Jonas asked FCA chief Sergio Marchionne if he would ever consider spinning Jeep and Ram, FCA's dedicated truck brand, into a separate corporate entity, and he responded with a simple "Yes." Jonas estimated Jeep's worth in January of this year at $22 billion. Ram was valued at $11.2 billion. Marchionne has a history of spinning off brands while keeping them part of FCA's corporate umbrella. The most noteworthy example of this value maximization was with Ferrari, which now trades on the New York Stock Exchange and rakes in $3.4 billion in annual revenue and close to $435 million in net income, reports the Free Press. Marchionne still serves as chairman and CEO of Ferrari, and Fiat heir John Elkann owns 22 percent of the Italian marque's shares. Even if the offloading of Jeep and Ram into a separate entity would amount to little more than a profit-driven ownership change on paper, it would be huge news to the brands' loyal fanbases. In any case, such a move would likely take years to actually happen and probably wouldn't mean much at all to the products that Jeep and Ram produce. In other words, Jeep fans can keep the pitchforks in the shed ... for now. Related Video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.

Fiat Chrysler agrees to new $3.8 billion credit facility with banks

MILAN — Fiat Chrysler said on Thursday it has agreed a new credit facility with two banks, at a time when major carmakers are having to shut down plants, losing revenue as demand slumps in the wake of the coronavirus. Most of FCA's plants around the world are currently shut in response to the virus emergency. Italian investment firm Exor, which controls FCA, said on Wednesday that the temporary closures might continue and increase depending on how the coronavirus outbreak develops. FCA said the credit facility would be available "for general corporate purposes and for working capital needs" of the group and that it was structured as a "bridge facility" to support its access to capital markets. "This transaction confirms the continued strong support of FCA's international key relationship banks in the current extraordinary circumstances," the automaker said in a statement, without making any explicit link between the new facility and the impact the virus is having on the global economy. The facility can be drawn in a single tranche of 3.5 billion euros ($3.8 billion), with an initial 12-month term which can be extended for further six months. It adds to existing credit facilities worth 7.7 billion euros, including lines for 1.5 billion euros that the company has started to draw down, FCA said. FCA is in merger talks with Peugeot owner PSA to create the world's fourth biggest carmaker. The deal is expected to be finalized by the first quarter of next year. Equita's analyst Martino De Ambroggi said that, based on his new assumption of a 10% drop of global auto market this year, the crisis triggered by the coronavirus would impact the merged automaker's free cash flow by over 5 billion euros. Earlier this week, General Motors announced it will draw about $16 billion from its credit lines in a bid to beef up liquidity amid rising business impact from the fast-spreading coronavirus outbreak. And last week, rival Ford abandoned its 2020 forecast and said it was drawing down $15.4 billion from two credit facilities to bolster its balance sheet. Related Video: