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Motor Authority - blog Tag: Partnership

  • Report: BMW, Daimler to end hybrid partnership

    Report: BMW, Daimler to end hybrid partnership July 15th, 2009 ByRalph Hanson Ralph Hanson, Author, July 15th, 2009 Ralph Hanson 0 Comments

    Report: BMW, Daimler to end hybrid partnership BMW and Daimler have been working more and more closely together over the past several years, especially since the need to share costs and improve bottom lines has become so sharp in 2009. But despite ongoing partnerships for vehicle safety technology, the hybrid partnership that spawned the two-mode hybrid appears to be in trouble.

    A report emerging from Germany today via Auto Motor & Sport has a BMW spokesperson casting doubt on the continuance of the partnership with Daimler. The reason for the doubt? There are currently talks underway with other carmakers that might yield a better solution for BMW.

    The report says that Daimler wants... BMW and Daimler have been working more and more closely together over the past several years, especially since the need to share costs and improve bottom lines has become so sharp in 2009. But despite ongoing partnerships for vehicle safety technology, the hybrid partnership that spawned the two-mode hybrid appears to be in trouble. A report emerging from Germany today via Auto Motor & Sport has a BMW spokesperson casting doubt on the continuance of the partnership with Daimler. The reason for the doubt? There are currently talks underway with other carmakers that might yield a better solution for BMW. The report says that Daimler wants the partnership to continue due to the cost savings it can deliver over the coming years as hybrids expand through the Mercedes-Benz lineup, including the S400 and ML450 hybrids. Daimler's own plans for a fully-electric future are being laid at a breakneck pace, however, so a hiccup in its hybrid operations may not have as serious an impact as might appear at first glance. On the other hand, until electric drive expands outside of the Smart lineup in Daimler's plans, hybrid drive is the only way to make its Mercedes offerings greener without sacrificing significant performance.Mercedes-Benz S400 BlueHYBRID2010 Mercedes Benz ML450 Hybrid Read More

  • Fiat-Chrysler deal official, Marchionne takes helm as CEO

    Fiat-Chrysler deal official, Marchionne takes helm as CEO June 10th, 2009 By Nelson Ireson Nelson Ireson, Author, June 10th, 2009 Nelson Ireson 2 Comments

    Fiat-Chrysler deal official, Marchionne takes helm as CEO After a dramatic courtship, government intervention and the odd Supreme Court order, Fiat and Chrysler have finally tied the knot. The new 'global strategic alliance' expands Fiat's reach back into the U.S., while offering the 'new' Chrysler - which is already in operation - the support it needs to get back on its feet as it crawls back out of bankruptcy.

    The 'new' Chrysler says it is positioned to tackle its challenges with a focus on the core Chrysler, Jeep, Dodge and Mopar brands with a 'leaner, flatter' structure. Fiat CEO and new Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne is enthusiastic about what the partnership could mean to Chrysler.

    ... After a dramatic courtship, government intervention and the odd Supreme Court order, Fiat and Chrysler have finally tied the knot. The new 'global strategic alliance' expands Fiat's reach back into the U.S., while offering the 'new' Chrysler - which is already in operation - the support it needs to get back on its feet as it crawls back out of bankruptcy. The 'new' Chrysler says it is positioned to tackle its challenges with a focus on the core Chrysler, Jeep, Dodge and Mopar brands with a 'leaner, flatter' structure. Fiat CEO and new Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne is enthusiastic about what the partnership could mean to Chrysler. “I personally feel privileged to have the opportunity to lead the new Chrysler and to work with senior management to build this company and our great brands into all we know they can and should be,” Marchionne said. Some of those cars will be re-worked Fiats from the Italian company's small and mid-sized ranks, though they won't strictly be re-badges. Instead, they will be re-engineered to meet U.S. standards for both safety and consumer taste. The best estimates put the arrival of the first Fiat-Chrysler joint projects at about 18 months from now. In the mean time, the Fiat 500 is expected to be sold as a Fiat directly through existing Chrysler dealerships - or at least the ones remaining after the great dealer purge that is wrapping up this week. Jim Press, the former President and Vice Chairman of Chrysler, will be taking a new role as Deputy CEO and Special Advisor to Marchionne, to help make the transition in leadership as smooth as possible. Read More

  • Supreme Court allows sale of Chrysler to Fiat

    Supreme Court allows sale of Chrysler to Fiat June 9th, 2009 ByRalph Hanson Ralph Hanson, Author, June 9th, 2009 Ralph Hanson 1 Comment

    Supreme Court allows sale of Chrysler to Fiat The Supreme Court has approved the sale of substantially all of Chrysler's assets to Fiat, helping to finalize their alliance as well as the American automaker’s bankruptcy proceedings. Approval was given for the $2 billion sale of the assets to a new company that will be 68% controlled by a healthcare trust aligned with the United Auto Workers (UAW) union. Fiat will control 20%, while the U.S. and Canadian governments will control the remaining 12%.

    Objectors to the deal had included a group of Indiana pension funds holding secured debt, some of the 789 dealerships Chrysler plans to reject, and consumer groups. They had argued that... The Supreme Court has approved the sale of substantially all of Chrysler's assets to Fiat, helping to finalize their alliance as well as the American automaker’s bankruptcy proceedings. Approval was given for the $2 billion sale of the assets to a new company that will be 68% controlled by a healthcare trust aligned with the United Auto Workers (UAW) union. Fiat will control 20%, while the U.S. and Canadian governments will control the remaining 12%. Objectors to the deal had included a group of Indiana pension funds holding secured debt, some of the 789 dealerships Chrysler plans to reject, and consumer groups. They had argued that Chrysler was moving too quickly, that the sale violated bankruptcy principals and that the company was needlessly closing hundreds of its dealerships. The Supreme Court rejected their challenge, stating that the objectors "have not carried the burden" to justify such action and that the court's action was not a decision on the merits of the underlying legal issues alone. The only alternative to approving the sale would have been the immediate liquidation of the automaker, reports Automotive News. Chrysler, as well as the Obama administration, urged the Supreme Court to allow the sale to go forward and said a long delay could either kill the deal or worsen its chances of viability, potentially jeopardizing more than 38,000 jobs. In the lead up to its bankruptcy, Chrysler was forced to close all of its plants and leave thousands of vehicles, engines and components unfinished. This led to the fears that important model launches, like the redesigned Jeep Grand Cherokee and next-generation Chrysler 300, could be delayed. The sale of Chrysler’s assets to the newly established Chrysler Group is expected to take place by June 15, a date that couldn’t come sooner as it’s estimated that the delays are costing Chrysler upwards of $100 million a day. Read More

  • Judge allows sale of Chrysler assets to Fiat

    Judge allows sale of Chrysler assets to Fiat June 1st, 2009 ByJeremy Weber Jeremy Weber, Author, June 1st, 2009 Jeremy Weber 4 Comments

    Judge allows sale of Chrysler assets to Fiat A U.S. bankruptcy judge on Sunday approved the sale of substantially all of Chrysler's assets to Fiat, helping to finalize the two automaker’s alliance as well as the American company’s bankruptcy proceedings. Approval was given for the $2 billion sale of the assets to a new company that will be 68% controlled by a healthcare trust aligned with the United Auto Workers (UAW) union. Fiat will control 20%, while the U.S. and Canadian governments will control the remaining 12%.

    In his written opinion Judge Gonzalez said the only alternative to approving the sale was the "immediate liquidation" of the company and that he was... A U.S. bankruptcy judge on Sunday approved the sale of substantially all of Chrysler's assets to Fiat, helping to finalize the two automaker’s alliance as well as the American company’s bankruptcy proceedings. Approval was given for the $2 billion sale of the assets to a new company that will be 68% controlled by a healthcare trust aligned with the United Auto Workers (UAW) union. Fiat will control 20%, while the U.S. and Canadian governments will control the remaining 12%. In his written opinion Judge Gonzalez said the only alternative to approving the sale was the "immediate liquidation" of the company and that he was concerned about saving the value of Chrysler as a continuing operation, Reuters reports. Objectors to the deal had included a group of Indiana pension funds holding secured debt, some of the 789 dealerships Chrysler plans to reject, and consumer groups. They had argued that Chrysler was moving too quickly, that the sale violated bankruptcy principals and that the company was needlessly closing hundreds of its dealerships. In the lead up to Chrysler’s restructuring deadline, the carmaker was forced to shutdown a number of plants and leave thousands of vehicles, engines and components unfinished. This led to the fears that important model launches, like the redesigned Jeep Grand Cherokee and next-generation Chrysler 300, could be delayed. The sale of Chrysler’s assets to the newly established Chrysler Group is expected to take place almost immediately. Incidentally, the decision was made less than 24 hours before Detroit rival General Motors announced its own bankruptcy, the details of which you can read about by clicking here. Read More

  • Ghosn: Nissan to grow its connections with Renault to help boost earnings

    Ghosn: Nissan to grow its connections with Renault to help boost earnings May 14th, 2009 ByRalph Hanson Ralph Hanson, Author, May 14th, 2009 Ralph Hanson 1 Comment

    Ghosn: Nissan to grow its connections with Renault to help boost earnings Just days after reporting its first loss since Carlos Ghosn took the helm in 1999, Nissan is looking for ways to get back on track, and Ghosn thinks that means tightening its relationship with Renault. More cooperation could mean lower total costs and therefore more profitability, but the specifics have yet to emerge.

    Finding more areas to cooperate could mean sharing even more engines than the already-shared eight, sharing existing platforms and halting development of new platforms for the near future. The engine sharing alone could generate up to $675 million in additional earnings, reports Reuters.

    How the company's financial plans... Just days after reporting its first loss since Carlos Ghosn took the helm in 1999, Nissan is looking for ways to get back on track, and Ghosn thinks that means tightening its relationship with Renault. More cooperation could mean lower total costs and therefore more profitability, but the specifics have yet to emerge. Finding more areas to cooperate could mean sharing even more engines than the already-shared eight, sharing existing platforms and halting development of new platforms for the near future. The engine sharing alone could generate up to $675 million in additional earnings, reports Reuters. How the company's financial plans impact its interest in the up-for-sale Saturn brand or its plans for further cooperation in the EV sector with Better Place and its own initiatives isn't clear, but those projects aren't expected to fall by the wayside yet. m The alliance also has plans to build an ultra-low cost car (a la Tata's Nano) in cooperation with Bajaj auto, and a plan to expand into the Russian market with AvtoVaz. Read More

  • Fiat ranks last in UK JD Power survey, bodes poorly for Chrysler

    Fiat ranks last in UK JD Power survey, bodes poorly for Chrysler May 4th, 2009 ByRalph Hanson Ralph Hanson, Author, May 4th, 2009 Ralph Hanson 6 Comments

    Fiat ranks last in UK JD Power survey, bodes poorly for Chrysler Chrysler's vehicles, like all of America's cars, have improved greatly in recent years. But not-too-distant memory reminds us of the Le Baron and even of another ill-fated Italian tie-up and its Maserati-branded spawn. So Fiat's poor scores in the most recent JD Power survey in the United Kingdom gives cause to wonder if the Fiat-Chrysler union might ultimately be a tragic one.

    Fiat's role in helping to save Chrysler post-bankruptcy was applauded by President Obama just days ago, but already the naysayers are building their case. And unfortunately, it's shaping up to be a decent one. The latest JD Power figures put Fiat at the bottom - 28th... Chrysler's vehicles, like all of America's cars, have improved greatly in recent years. But not-too-distant memory reminds us of the Le Baron and even of another ill-fated Italian tie-up and its Maserati-branded spawn. So Fiat's poor scores in the most recent JD Power survey in the United Kingdom gives cause to wonder if the Fiat-Chrysler union might ultimately be a tragic one. Fiat's role in helping to save Chrysler post-bankruptcy was applauded by President Obama just days ago, but already the naysayers are building their case. And unfortunately, it's shaping up to be a decent one. The latest JD Power figures put Fiat at the bottom - 28th of 28 - in UK satisfaction rankings. Lexus, Skoda, Honda, Toyota and Jaguar filled out the top 5 spots, while Citroen, Kia, Chevrolet, Mitsubishi and Fiat rounded out the bottom five. Which is a roundabout way of saying Fiat's car's aren't exactly renowned for their reliability in Europe, nor are those of sister brand Alfa Romeo though the brand wasn't separated in the results list. The last time either car was sold in the U.S. they had developed and suffered from a reputation for unreliability that ultimately contributed to their retreat from our shores. Now the continued poor performance of Fiat in markets where it's already established calls into question whether the Italian company will be able to turn things around at Chrysler, or whether the partnership will just degenerate into a downward spiral of poor design feeding poor execution. On the other hand, Fiat also makes brilliant cars like the 500, which slots into a segment where Chrysler is completely absent. Will the synergies make both companies better than they are on their own? Or will the Fiat-Chrysler partnership make the DaimlerChrysler era seem like a golden age? Read More

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