He donned the sweater of Sergio Marchione at the death of the handyman of the Agnelli family . At Fiat-Chrysler, it’s Mike Manley who’s been driving since last July . The former boss of Jeep was at the Geneva Motor Show on Tuesday, to explain to the European public with his deep voice and asked what he intended to do the Italian-American manufacturer.
In a more turbulent automotive context than ever, the British must first finalize the outlines of his bodyguards, which should be done by the end of the year, he says. This will be welcome, because if the group, he recalls from the outset, no longer has industrial debt, this does not mean that the new boss is on the road traced by record sales of lucrative brands Jeep and RAM.
In the USA, he has to face the plateau of the American market, which has been stagnant for some time . To fuel growth in sales, Mike Manley has announced $ 4.5 billion in investment in the United States to assemble large SUVs – “something he has wanted for a long time” – in five factories, to titillate Ford and General Motors on this segment.
But to tell the truth, his main worries are outside the American territory, which represents almost all of its profits. In Europe, the situation is indeed much more complicated. First, the sales of FCA skate and the operating margin did not exceed 1.8% last year. The historic Fiat brand is not going strong, selling mostly small Panda, Fiat 500 and commercial vehicles.
Alfa and Maserati in the hard
The comeback of Alfa Romeo has for its part fizzled. “The goals were too high at the base. I prefer to take more time and create real organic growth, “he says. As for Maserati, sales have slipped 28% last year, but no question of giving up the entity despite the marks of interest of Chinese Geely, already owner of Volvo. “It’s a fantastic brand,” he insists.
True to the “premium” strategy presented by Sergio Marchionne last June Mike Manley also decided, after reopening the file, to confirm without retouching the industrial investment plan of five billion euros in Italy. “Fiat is an urban brand, with a large fleet in Europe. This is valuable. But the European context is changing fast, and we must be able to offer a high level of electrification, “says the boss.
In this respect, Mike Manley’s biggest challenge remains the C02 targets in Europe. At this level, FCA is late and risks a nine-figure fine in 2021. “What I can tell you is that we will choose the least expensive solution for us, between the forced electrification, the fine or the redemption of CO2 credits,” he explains, pointing out competition looming on the electric car market, still stammering for the moment.
In this not always glamorous scene, Mike Manley says that the future of FCA is “solid”. Man is however “very open” to any type of partnership, including capitalistic, able to reduce costs and increase volumes. “I will not do everything alone. But this should enable us to offer better cars to our customers, to preserve our brands and the interests of our shareholders, “he says. Notice to the amateurs.