MILAN/LONDON (Reuters) - Fiat Chrysler (FCA) (FCHA.MI) boss Sergio Marchionne is expected to outline new plans for electric and hybrid cars in a strategy presentation on Friday, aiming to ensure the world’s seventh-largest carmaker remains in the race in the absence of a merger.
The 65-year-old will present FCA’s strategy to 2022, his final contribution to the company he turned around and multiplied in value through 14 years of canny dealmaking.
After failing to secure a tie-up he said was necessary to manage the costs of producing cleaner vehicles, Marchionne needs to show the group can keep churning out profits on its own, even as emissions rules tighten, SUV competition intensifies and worries around his succession abound.
Marchionne had long refused to jump on the electrification bandwagon, saying he would only do so if selling battery-powered cars could be done at a profit. He even urged customers not to buy FCA’s Fiat 500e, its only battery-powered model, because he was losing money on each sold.
But Tesla’s (TSLA.O) success and the need to comply with tougher emissions rules have forced Marchionne to commit to what he calls “most painful” spending.
“FCA is way behind rivals in terms of hybrid and electric vehicles and they need to hit the accelerator to convince investors they can close that gap,” said Andrea Pastorelli, a fund manager at 8a+ Investimenti.
Germany’s Volkswagen (VOWG_p.DE), Daimler (DAIGn.DE), BMW (BMWG.DE) and U.S. rivals GM (GM.N) and Ford (F.N) have
