Rumormill: Suzuki to join Marchionne's Fiat/Chrysler/Opel super-group
The Suzuki SX4 is also sold as the Fiat Sedici – Click above for a high-res image gallery
With Fiat preparing to join forces with Chrysler, Opel, Saab and General Motors Latin America, the Italian auto group is expanding its home base to the United States, Germany, Sweden and South America. So what's it missing? Japan. The latest rumors out of Automotive News Europe could go a long way towards addressing that omission, as the trade organ is reporting that Fiat CEO and merger mastermind Sergio Marchionne may be preparing to bring Suzuki into the fold as well.
The main contributing factor to this turn of the rumormill, though, is the presence of Suzuki's factory in Hungary, where the Japanese automaker builds the Sedici (twin to the Suzuki SX4 Crossover) for Fiat and the Agila for Opel. However, Marchionne insist these are pure speculation, dismissing the reports as "nonsense." Marchionne arguably already has more on his plate than he can chew at the moment, but the scuttlebutt probably isn't entirely without merit.
[Source: Automotive News Europe – subs. req'd]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Jared 3:36PM (5/11/2009)
Sounds eerily like Daimler, Chrysler, and Mitsubishi. How did that turn out?
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ronEbear 3:45PM (5/11/2009)
Well, Chrysler went bankrupt since then sooooo.......
Tool 6:37PM (5/11/2009)
Does anyone think that putting together all these "loser" companies is going to yield one great company?
It's been tried so many times, but apparently these geniuses know something others don't.
C 5:04PM (5/12/2009)
lol Suzuki and Fiat are not going bust. Chrysler and GM are.
Richard 12:08AM (5/12/2009)
Fiat is the exact opposite (literally) of Daimler and Chrysler i.e. it should work out.
Daimler for the last three years have had the highest average european CO2 emission levels. Even Smarts have very high levels considering their engine displacements and other Toyotas and Fiat 4-seaters with much larger displacements.
Fiat, on the contrary, have held the European top spot for the last two years, after coming second to Peugeot-Citroen in 2008.
They also look set to put some air between themselves and Peugeot-Citroen from this year and expecially the next, thanks to THIS:
http://streetimportonline.com/20090309152/fiat-multiair-technology-announced-more-power-less-fuel-less-emissions.html
Considering the CO2-based taxes in Europe today and how these are spreading everywhere, this is no small technological advantage.
Richard 12:10AM (5/12/2009)
ooops.....second in2006
adam1drift 3:45PM (5/11/2009)
Suzuki is finally making some good cars... DONT DO IT!
Suzuki just needs to offer more of its Jap and UK cars in the US...
getting together with Fiat would be as bad as them being with Deawoo which they are no longer...
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Beastage 4:14PM (5/11/2009)
Suzuki are doing good because of... that is right, joint projects with FIAT, so it makes sense.
Bloke 4:33PM (5/11/2009)
Small car design is Fiat's forte - indeed, the SX4 was a colloboration between Fiat and Suzuki in any case. With excellent small cars like the Panda, Punto and Bravo already well established, Suzuki would be wise to tap in on that expertise.
Smegley 3:46PM (5/11/2009)
Fiat really needs to buy Toyota, Honda, VW, Ford, and Renault/Nissan too.
Shoot for the moon - even if you fail you'll at least end up in the space junk.
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John 3:49PM (5/11/2009)
This is becoming the alphabet soup auto company from H*ll. Talk about culture clashes - Swedes + Italians + Germans + Latins + Americans. Expect much screaming ahead. It hardly works in the UN, much less trying to build an economy car.
Just merging Fiat + Chrysler will be enough of a challenge.
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mk3 5:18PM (5/11/2009)
It will be very hard to avoid a disaster from merging all this companies that have the same market and equal products. Anyway I hope they manage to make it successful, afterall if Fiat goes down so does Ferrari and Maserati.
John 3:50PM (5/11/2009)
I give Fiat credit, they sure are striking while the iron is hot. If you were going to form a mega car company there is no better time than now while the industry is at record lows.
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tuna 4:25PM (5/11/2009)
Agreed. But buying up Suzuki may be too much and too soon. Unless Marchionne isn't showing his cards yet. My guess is that he'll want to see how the mergers currently on the table pans out first before going further.
Nellydesign 4:53PM (5/11/2009)
Remember when Ford bought all those brands and seemed like a mega company as well? Well the only way to stay viable was to sell them all off. I think FIAT is making the same mistake here. The age of the mega car company is over. Lean and mean is the way to go but this is going to be a big, bloated mess.
mk3 5:22PM (5/11/2009)
Fiat is like a high school boy who asks every girl out and hopes that at least one of them will go out.
P.V. 3:55PM (5/11/2009)
NOOOOOOOOO! Suzuki makes good small cars on their own!
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unni 4:00PM (5/11/2009)
Yes, Suzuki has good small cars : Alto, Wagon R, Swift etc
http://www.marutisuzuki.com/
Swift is beautiful :-) and i would consider it for buy ,if its in Canada and 4x4 version.
They make good money from India.
tuna 4:28PM (5/11/2009)
A merger doesn't necessarily mean the cars have to be identical. The underlying platform can be the same, but the end product can still be different. It would allow each manufacturer to save development cost, reduce development time... both factors are good towards healthier bottom line.
Bloke 4:35PM (5/11/2009)
Fiat excel when it comes to small car design. And with products such as the Panda, Punto and Bravo well established, Suzuki would be wise to tap in on that expertise. Indeed, the Sedici/SX4 was a joint collaboration between the two companies.