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Fiat Chrysler's profit boosted by Ram and Jeep in North America

MILAN/DETROIT — Fiat Chrysler took the market by surprise by sticking to its full-year profit guidance on Wednesday after a strong performance from its Ram pickup truck in North America helped it defy an industry slowdown. Chief Executive Mike Manley, in FCA's first earnings release since a failed attempt to merge with France's Renault, also left the door open to that or other deals. "We are open to opportunity," Manley said on a call with analysts. "I have no doubt why there still would be interest in it," he added, when pressed on what it would take to revive talks with Renault. Manley declined to comment further. FCA last month abandoned its $35 billion merger offer for Renault, blaming French politics for scuttling what would have been a landmark deal to create the world's third-biggest automaker. Manley said a merger was not a must-have and Fiat Chrysler's business plan was strong. The company said it remained confident its adjusted earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) would top last year's 6.7 billion euros ($7.5 billion). Given disappointing forecasts from other automakers this earnings season, FCA's confirmation of the outlook sent Milan-listed shares in the Italian-American automaker, whose other brands include Jeep, up over 4%. A broad-based auto sales downturn has rattled the sector, forcing FCA's competitors — including Renault, Daimler and Aston Martin — to cut their sales forecasts after second-quarter results, while U.S. carmaker Ford gave a weaker-than-expected 2019 profit outlook. Japan's Nissan, a long-term partner of Renault, said it would cut 12,500 jobs by 2023 after its earnings collapsed. In the second quarter FCA's adjusted EBIT totaled 1.52 billion euros, versus analysts' expectations of 1.43 billion euros, according to a Reuters poll. FCA's U.S. shipments were down 12% in the second quarter but the group said that the successful performance of its Ram brand resulted in an enhanced share of the large pickup truck market of 27.9%, up 7 percentage points from last year. Adjusted EBIT margin in North America rose to 8.9% from 6.5% in the first quarter, thanks to strong demand for the heavy-duty Ram and the new Jeep Gladiator pickup. Chief Financial Officer Richard Palmer also said FCA expected to report up to 10% margins in the region in both the third and fourth quarters.

Maserati adds rear seats to GranTurismo MC Stradale for Geneva

More seats inside the Maserati GranTurismo MC Stradale means the possibility of a wider audience in more ways than one. Currently only available as a two-seater (we don't get the Stradale version, we get the four-seat GranTurismo MC), the addition of back seats will allow twice as many folks inside, and add the car to the purchase lists of those who need to carry more than two souls in their race-derived, 470-horsepower luxury coupes.
Furthermore, the MC Stradale now gets a carbon fiber hood with an air intakes and extractors, 20-inch alloys and new materials inside. It will take the A-lister's spot on the Maserati stand at the Geneva Motor Show, making its world debut alongside the European debut of the new Quattroporte. The press release below can tell you more.

Stellantis says it has no intention of selling Maserati

  Stellantis has no intention of selling its luxury vehicle business Maserati or aggregating the unit with other Italian luxury groups, the Jeep maker said on Tuesday. "Stellantis restates unwavering commitment to Maserati's bright future as the unique luxury brand of the 14 Stellantis brands," the carmaker said in a statement, while also reaffirming commitment to its entire portfolio. Carlos Tavares, the Netherlands-based automaker's chief, warned last week that if the company's loss-making brands "don't make money, we'll shut them down". The comments came after Stellantis delivered worse-than-expected results for the first half. The Chrysler-parent does not release figures for individual brands, except for Maserati, which reported an adjusted operating loss of 82 million euros for the first half of the year. Some analysts had previously noted that Maserati could possibly be a target for a sale by Stellantis, which the company's chief financial officer did not rule out, while other brands such as Lancia or DS might be at risk of being scrapped, given their marginal contribution to the group's overall sales.