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Fiat Chrysler open to mergers, and PSA is looking for one

GENEVA — Fiat Chrysler (FCA) is open to pursuing alliances and merger opportunities if they make sense, but a sale of its luxury brand Maserati is not an option, Chief Executive Mike Manley said on Tuesday. "We have a strong independent future, but if there is a partnership, a relationship or a merger which strengthens that future, I will look at that," Manley told reporters at the Geneva Motor Show. Asked whether he would consider selling Maserati to China's Geely Automobile Holdings, as suggested by recent media reports, Manley said: "Maserati is one of our really beautiful brands and it has an incredibly bright future. ... No." FCA is often cited as a possible merger candidate. Bloomberg said this week that the Italian-American carmaker was attractive to France's PSA Group given its exposure to the U.S. market and its popular Jeep brand. The Detroit News' headline on the situation Friday read, "Fiat Chrysler CEO open to a deal as PSA circles" and stated that Manley's open-to-just-about-anything comments were aimed directly at PSA. Bloomberg said talks between the two were preliminary and said PSA chief Carlos Tavares has also contemplated mergers with General Motors or Jaguar Land Rover, which is losing money for Indian owner Tata. PSA has enjoyed a decade of turnaround and has $10.2 billion in net cash available. The maker of Peugeot, Citroen and DS, acquired Opel and Vauxhall in 2017 and made them almost instantly profitable. Manley, who took over after the death of Sergio Marchionne, said he currently had no news on possible deals. Manley also said the world's seventh-largest carmaker, which is lagging rivals in developing hybrid and electric vehicles, would take the least costly approach to comply with increasingly more stringent European emissions regulations. "There are three options. You can sell enough electrified vehicles to balance your fleet. Two: You can be part of a pooling scheme. Three is to pay the fines," he said. "I don't see a scenario when (carmakers) continue to subsidize technologies ... indefinitely." The carmaker had said last June it would invest 9 billion euros ($10.19 billion) over the next five years to introduce hybrid and electric cars across all regions to be fully compliant with emissions regulations. Asked about a 5-billion-euro investment plan for Italy FCA announced in November but then put under review, Manley said the plan had been confirmed as originally presented.

Marchionne wants Maserati to be FCA's new Ferrari

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles is gearing up to spin Ferrari, its most profitable brand, off into another company, and float its stock on the open market. That means it's going to need another profit-driver to generate income for the rest of the group. And according to its chief executive Sergio Marchionne, that mantle will soon be picked up by Maserati. FCA is betting big on Maserati, which has long stood as a niche marque with a limited array of models and low sales numbers. In addition to the recently introduced Ghibli and Quattroporte sedans – now crucially offered with diesels and all-wheel drive – Maserati is preparing to roll out the Levante crossover that promises to do for the Modenese marque what the Cayenne did for Porsche. Due in part to the success of its first crossover, Porsche turned itself from a niche sports car manufacturer into an immensely profitable automaker that was (nearly) capable of buying out the entire Volkswagen Group. Maserati's resurgence is part of a two-pronged assault FCA is plotting against its German rivals. Maserati will be charged with taking on the higher end of the Mercedes, BMW, and Audi ranges (from the E-Class, 5 Series and A6 upwards). Meanwhile, Alfa Romeo will go after the lower end of the luxury spectrum with the new Giulia (aimed at the C-Class, 3 Series and A4) and other models to follow. FCA aims to turn Maserati and Alfa Romeo (along with Jeep) into global brands, broadening the narrow geographical appeal they have held until now. In order to generate enough profit to support the rest of the group as Ferrari has, Maserati will need to find a way to increase its profit margins. Bloomberg reports that Ferraris command a 13-percent profit margin, and while the ten percent that Maseratis list for is still triple that of the FCA average, slow sales are forcing some dealers to offer deep incentives that cut significantly into that margin. Related Video:

Maserati slashes prices for 2020, adds Edizione Ribelle special editions

Maserati is slashing prices for the Ghibli, Levante and Quattroporte for the 2020 model year. To which we say, huzzah! Cars almost never get cheaper, but when sales are as abysmal as Maserati sales have been, drastic changes must be made. The Italian car company only sold about 11,000 vehicles total in 2019, coming in even lower than 2018 overall sales numbers. In an effort to turn it around, the 2020 Ghibli is now $5,990 cheaper than the 2019 model. The Levante is $3,990 cheaper than before, and the Quattroporte is $8,490 less. With destination included, the new 2020 base prices are as follows: Ghibli: $70,985 Levante: $74,485 Quattroporte: $101,485 Basically, buy a 2020, not a 2019. Or at least start your pricing negotiations with the 2020 price. There’s more than just pricing news from Maserati today, though. We also got to see some new Edizione Ribelle special editions. All of the aforementioned models are available in this spec, but numbers are limited. WeÂ’ll get 100 Levantes, 100 Ghiblis and 25 Quattroportes total. All of them are based off the “S” trim, so theyÂ’re fairly well-equipped models. YouÂ’ll be able to tell them apart by the Nero Ribelle paintwork, black chrome trim throughout the exterior and 20-inch wheels framing red brake calipers. The inside will be covered in black and red leather thatÂ’s only available with this special edition car. There will be extra carbon fiber trim on various surfaces and a Harman Kardon audio system. Pricing for the Edizione Ribelle models is much higher than the base cars. The Ghibli is $93,285; the Levante is $98,485, and the Quattroporte costs $120,985. Those limited-production cars will be hitting dealer lots in March this year. 2020 Maserati GT Sport editions View 3 Photos The last scrap of news coming from Maserati today is the introduction of a GT Sport package. This package consists of a few extras to make the respective Maserati look a bit more aggressive. It applies a GranSport-unique front and rear fascia design, new wheels and your choice between black, red or blue brake calipers. Inside, it features high gloss piano black wood. Just like the Edizione Ribelle, thee GT Sport package will be available come March of this year.