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Fiat Chrysler and Renault pursue $35-billion merger to combat car industry upheaval

MILAN/PARIS — Fiat Chrysler pitched a finely balanced merger of equals to Renault on Monday to tackle the costs of far-reaching technological and regulatory changes by creating the world's third-biggest automaker. If it goes ahead, the $35 billion-plus tie-up would alter the landscape for rivals including General Motors and Peugeot maker PSA Group, which recently held inconclusive talks with Fiat Chrysler (FCA), and could spur more deals. Renault said it was studying the proposal from Italian-American FCA with interest, and considered it friendly. Shares in both companies jumped more than 10 percent as investors welcomed the prospect of an enlarged business capable of producing more than 8.7 million vehicles a year and aiming for 5 billion euros ($5.6 billion) in annual savings. It would rank third in the global auto industry behind Japan's Toyota and Germany's Volkswagen. But analysts also warned of big complications, including Renault's existing alliance with Nissan, the French state's role as Renault's largest shareholder and potential opposition from politicians and workers to any cutbacks. "The market will be careful with these synergy numbers as much has been promised before and there isn't a single merger of equals that has ever succeeded in autos," Evercore ISI analyst Arndt Ellinghorst said. With these sensitivities in mind, FCA proposed an all-share merger under a listed Dutch holding company. After a 2.5 billion euro dividend for existing FCA shareholders - giving a big upfront boost to the Agnelli family that controls 29% of FCA - investors in each firm would hold half of the new entity. The merged group would be chaired by Agnelli family scion John Elkann, sources familiar with the talks told Reuters, while Renault chairman Jean-Dominique Senard would likely become CEO. Italian Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini said the proposed merger could be good news for Italy if it helped FCA to grow, but it was crucial to preserve jobs. He did not comment on the French government's 15% stake in Renault, but an influential lawmaker from the ruling League party said Rome may seek a stake in the combined group to balance France's holding. A deal could also have profound repercussions for Renault's 20-year-old alliance with Nissan, already weakened by the crisis surrounding the arrest and ouster of former chairman Carlos Ghosn late last year. The Japanese carmaker has yet to comment on FCA's proposal.

Marchionne backs off merger plans, could retire after 2018

FCA boss Sergio Marchionne is stepping back from plans to attempt a major auto industry merger like the oft-speculated deal with General Motors last year. According to Bloomberg, Marchionne now wants to grow his automaker through 2018, and then the 63-year-old could retire around the end of that year. Marchionne claims he received merger proposals last year, but he couldn't find an attractive enough partnership. "We went back to concentrate on the 2018 plan which would boost Fiat Chrysler's value and its position in a deal," he said to Bloomberg. He still believes that a big merger is possible, but "it will be someone else's duty," he said after previously hinting about possibly staying at FCA until 2020. Marchionne was clear that any chance for the GM merger was likely over. "I met Mary Barra less than a month ago in Washington," he told Bloomberg. "I don't think I will have another coffee with her. It won't happen again in the future." Now, the boss intends to spend the rest of his time at FCA building the automaker through its five-year plan, and his goal is to grow global deliveries to seven million units a year by 2018. To make that happen, the automaker will invest around $52 billion over that time to improve its brands' product slate. Marchionne began backtracking from the possible GM merger late in 2015 after it became clear that The General's board wasn't interested. Earlier in the year, he seemed more aggressive about the prospect by suggesting a hostile takeover with a bizarre metaphor about giving the company a hug. Related Video: News Source: BloombergImage Credit: Richard Drew / AP Photo Chrysler Fiat GM Sergio Marchionne FCA fca us

2017 Chrysler Pacifica videos detail features and hybrid tech

In a new video, Chrysler put a few designers and engineers in front of the camera to discuss the behind-the-scenes work on the 2017 Pacifica that was revealed at the Detroit Auto Show on Monday. They take a closer look at some of the details that went into the new minivan, like getting the occupants seated lower down in the vehicle, the fact that the hybrid Pacifica takes about two hours to fully recharge on a Level 2 charger, the eight-passenger seating, and the "Are We There Yet?" app for kids to let them know how much longer it is to grandma's house. Sure, dismissing the Town & Country name to reboot Pacifica has drawn plenty of attention. Nevertheless, based on the our first impressions of seeing it in person and crawling around it at the Detroit Auto Show, and the terrific notes struck by Chrysler's recent product, this has the potential to be a really good minivan. Chrysler also revealed its first marketing spot for the Pacifica. Having come out with a cool looking minivan, the brand guys decided to have fun with an anti-buzzword, anti-curated, anti-viral two-minute spot called Real Life that plays up the anti-cool you would normally associate with the family school bus. You can watch that in the video above, and check what the engineers and designers have to say in the videos below. The Town & Country is dead. Long live the Pacifica. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. News Source: Chrysler via YouTube [1], [2], [3], [4], Carscoops Design/Style Green Marketing/Advertising Chrysler Minivan/Van Hybrid Videos chrysler pacifica