Fiat Chrysler loses another boss as woes mount

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July 24, 2018

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Fiat Chrysler loses another boss as woes mount

Source: Agencies | 00:01 UTC+8 July 24, 2018 |

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Fiat Chrysler’s European boss has quit, adding to the problems facing new CEO Mike Manley who must deliver on promises to boost production of SUVs and catch up with rivals in electric cars.

Jeep division head Manley was named on Saturday to succeed Chief Executive Sergio Marchionne, one of the auto industry’s most tenacious and respected leaders, who fell seriously ill after suffering complications following surgery.

It emerged yesterday that Alfredo Altavilla, head of Fiat Chrysler’s Europe, Middle East and Africa business had resigned, according to a source with knowledge of the matter. He had been a rival for the top job along with Manley and Chief Financial Officer Richard Palmer.

Marchionne had been due to step down next April as head of the world’s seventh largest carmaker, so the market reaction to his sudden departure was relatively limited. The shares initially fell more than 5 percent, but bounded back later in the ay.

“The downside may be modest, at least in the next 12 months. But long-term concerns will build — Marchionne ran FCA in a command and control style, with constant firefighting measures,” said Bernstein analyst Max Warburton.

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles said British-born Manley would pursue the strategy that Marchionne outlined last month.

FCA has pledged to increase production of sport utility vehicles and invest in electric and hybrid cars to double operating profit by 2022. It also unveiled bold targets for Jeep, which has become FCA’s ticket to creating a high-margin brand with global appeal.

FCA’s group executive council was meeting at FCA’s Italian base in Turin yesterday, chaired for the first time by Manley.

Analysts said that choosing Manley, under whose watch Jeep’s sales surged fourfold, sent a clear message that FCA was staying on course and would keep the Jeep brand at the heart of its growth plan.

“Manley knows that his primary focus is on execution and that, already, he has a strategy into which his team has bought,” said George Galliers, an analyst at Evercore ISI. “There is no reason the 2022 plan cannot be executed.”

Under Manley, the company is expected to sharpen its focus on revamping individual brands.

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Fiat Chrysler loses another boss as woes mount

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