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FCA CEO Manley says alliances are still possible but aren't necessary

DETROIT — Fiat Chrysler Automobiles Chief Executive has a message for Renault SA and other would-be partners: We are happy to talk, but we can go it alone. "Strategically, we have a solid future and clear plans that are being invested in and are underway now," Mike Manley said during a session with reporters the day after the company released better than expected second-quarter results. "That isn't to say if there is a better future through an alliance or partnership or merger we wouldnÂ’t be open and interested to it." Fiat Chrysler is open to re-starting merger negotiations with French automaker Renault, Manley said, but added the French car maker is not the only potential partner to gain scale or plug gaps in Fiat Chrysler's technology or vehicle lineup. "To say are they the only opportunity, the answer to that question would be a definitive ‘No,Â’" Manley said. Fiat Chrysler in June withdrew a $35 billion merger proposal with Renault after French government officials intervened in the talks and sought to delay a decision on the deal. The Wall Street Journal reported on Friday that Renault and Nissan are trying again to reshape their alliance and resolve disagreements that helped to derail the merger talks with Fiat Chrysler. Fiat Chrysler has a commercial vehicle partnership with French rival Peugeot SA, and the two companies discussed a broader combination before Fiat Chrysler made its offer to Renault, people familiar with the situation have said. Manley said automakers are not the only potential partners. "There are cooperations that can help in specific technologies. There are cooperations as we think about the consumer-car interface," he said. "You could see collaborations that never would be there in the past." Fiat Chrysler's North American business is strong thanks to Ram trucks and Jeep SUVs, but in other markets the automaker faces continued challenges. The company is overhauling its mass-market business in Europe, which is anchored by the Fiat brand. Fiat Chrysler's Europe, Middle East and Africa operations were marginally profitable in the second quarter and achieved 1.8% profit margin in 2018. Manley has set a goal of 3% operating margins, well short of the 10% margins the company forecast for North America.

2024 Fiat 500e adds special models for fans of rose gold and sweet tunes

The 2024 500e is nearly here, and before its grand launch, Fiat revealed a pair of special editions that’ll be joining the lineup toward the end of the year. TheyÂ’re called the “Inspired By Beauty” and “Inspired By Music” models. Starting with the 500e Inspired By Beauty (seen in the photo gallery at the top), itÂ’s painted in an exclusive Rose Gold color you wonÂ’t be able to get on any other 500e. The shade is rather stunning, so itÂ’s safe to say the name matches its actual appearance. This model also gets body-color mirror caps and chrome molding to differentiate it from other models. Inside the Inspired By Beauty, Fiat treats you to beige “eco-leather” seats and a contrasting black dash also wrapped in eco-leather.  The Inspired By Beauty model adds new driver assistance features that other versions of the 500e donÂ’t have, including adaptive cruise control and lane-keep assist. Thankfully, the second special model Fiat released today also has the above driver assistance features, too. 2024 Fiat 500e Inspired By Music front 3/4 View 23 Photos This one (directly above) is called Inspired By Music, so listen up, audiophiles. This model gets a JBL premium sound system consisting of seven speakers, an amplifier and a subwoofer. It has four unique sound modes in the infotainment system including My Music Room, My Recording Studio, Giuseppe Verdi Opera House Pisa and Open-air Arena. Each have their unique characteristics and are meant to represent the sound experience you might have in each location. Appearance-wise, the Inspired By Music wears a shiny coat of Piano Black (yes, another intentional music reference) paint and the same beige eco-leather color combo as you see in the Inspired By Beauty model. Both of these special models have the same starting price of $37,595, including the $1,595 destination charge. Fiat says you can expect them to hit dealerships in the third quarter of 2024, but theyÂ’re both available for ordering today. Related video:

Stellantis and Ferrari boss is pitted against his own mother in Agnelli inheritance drama

  MILAN, Italy — A court in Turin is set to rule in the coming weeks on an inheritance dispute dividing the Agnelli family, the founders of the Fiat car company and arguably the best known of Italy's business dynasties. The case stems from the estate of Gianni Agnelli, the celebrated Fiat boss who was a symbol of Italy's post-war economic boom and who died two decades ago. It pits Agnelli's daughter Margherita, who inherited 1.2 billion euros ($1.3 billion), against three of her eight children including her eldest, John Elkann, the chairman of Ferrari and carmaker Stellantis. In the dispute that has riven one of Italy's elite families, Margherita is fighting to overturn agreements she signed after her father's death in order to eventually benefit her five children from a second marriage, sources close to her say. Should the Turin court decide in her favor, Margherita, who is 67 and Gianni Agnelli's only surviving child, could stake a claim to half of her late mother's estate and a share in the Elkann family business. The center of the dispute The dispute has its origins in an inheritance deal known as the "Geneva pacts" that Margherita, an artist and philanthropist, signed in 2004 after the death of her father the previous year and agreed to when Fiat was on the brink of bankruptcy. Under the first pact, Margherita received property, works of art and other liquid assets from Gianni's estate and renounced any future influence in the Dicembre (December) company, a key part of the ownership structure of Exor, the Agnelli-family holding. The pacts cemented John Elkann's position as Gianni Agnelli's chosen successor and effectively took his mother Margherita out of the equation. John Elkann, 47, now leads Exor, which owns slices of prestigious businesses and brands including national newspapers and the soccer club Juventus. The second pact covered what would happen to the estate of Margherita's mother Marella, who died in 2019 aged 91. Marella passed her Dicembre stake to three of her grandchildren, John, his brother Lapo and sister Ginevra, from Margherita's first marriage to journalist Alain Elkann. Margherita wants the pacts to be rescinded to be able to give her children with second husband Serge De Pahlen, a Franco-Russian former Fiat executive, a share of their grandmother's estate, sources close to her say.