Fiat's man of the moment
Sergio Marchionne is now betting big on the Indian market. He is excited about Fiat’s propects in India, where its vehicles are marketed and distributed by Tata Motors.
Ratan tata might have grabbed all the media attention at the recently-held Society of Indian Automotive Manufacturers (SIAM) conclave in New Delhi, but the man everybody wanted to meet was Tata’s good friend, Italian car maker Fiat’s CEO Sergio Marchionne. The Canadian-Italian has been credited with single-handedly turning around Fiat’s fortunes, doing a job many in the automobile industry consider to be more remarkable than Renault CEO Carlos Ghosn’s makeover of Nissan.
Later, at a dinner hosted by the Italian Embassy, a candid Marchionne spoke at length about his successful stint with Fiat. Prior to Fiat, Marchionne had cut his teeth as the head of Swiss consultancy firm Algroup. “The reason I could do what I did at Fiat is because I was not an insider. The problem with Italian industry is simple, everybody knows somebody and getting things done is sometimes impossible because of the tremendous peer pressure. See what is happening with (Italian airline) Alitalia right now,” says Marchionne. The secret to transformation, he believes is to take a view from the outside. According to him, “Insiders don’t see problems that can be staring them in the face from an inch away.”
Marchionne, whose family emigrated to Canada when he was fourteen, underscores that Fiat had lost some of its passion for making cars at the turn of the millennium. “We have got that spark back now with great products such as Cinquecento and the upcoming Linea in India,” he asserts.
Now, Marchionne is excited about Fiat’s propects in India, where its vehicles are marketed and distributed by Tata Motors. “India is a big market for us. Things have been difficult here, but our relationship with Tata Motors has been fantastic. Now our new factory at Ranjangaon (near Ahmednagar, Maharashtra) is operational and we have an exciting line up of cars coming in the next few months,” he adds. Clearly, Marchionne has big plans for India and given his formidable reputation, he cannot be taken lightly.
—Kushan Mitra
Fiats Marchionne: A view from the outside helps
Marchionne, whose family emigrated to Canada when he was fourteen, underscores that Fiat had lost some of its passion for making cars at the turn of the millennium. “We have got that spark back now with great products such as Cinquecento and the upcoming Linea in India,” he asserts.
Now, Marchionne is excited about Fiat’s propects in India, where its vehicles are marketed and distributed by Tata Motors. “India is a big market for us. Things have been difficult here, but our relationship with Tata Motors has been fantastic. Now our new factory at Ranjangaon (near Ahmednagar, Maharashtra) is operational and we have an exciting line up of cars coming in the next few months,” he adds. Clearly, Marchionne has big plans for India and given his formidable reputation, he cannot be taken lightly.
—Kushan Mitra
