FCA’s Ferrari Spinoff Opens Door for New Deals

Sergio Marchionne already setup one of the largest auto industry deals in the last decade, but he’s not done yet. 

Marchionne still thinks the industry is ripe for another major merger like the one between Fiat and Chrysler that he made happen. Thanks to the company’s spin-off of Ferrari, which helped to raise $5 billion to greatly lower debt, FCA is now much more attractive to other automakers for a potential merger.

“I’ve always had the view that this industry over the middle to long term needs to look at other consolidation opportunities,” Marchionne said. “Eventually it must happen.”

Partnerships are becoming much more common in the auto industry amid slowing market growth and higher development costs thanks to new technology packed cars. By joining forces, auto companies can maximize economies of scale to cut down on costs.

Among the companies being tossed around for possible merger are General Motors, Ford and the Volkswagen Group. Mazda and Suzuki are also possibilities, both of which would help FCA in Asian markets.