Marchionne Says Fixing Fiat Was Bigger Challenge than Chrysler

Chrysler Group LLC Chief Executive Officer Sergio Marchionne said he is more optimistic about the company’s recovery than he was about rebuilding Fiat SpA when he joined the Italian automaker in 2004, reported Bloomberg.com.

Chrysler beat its target for $5 billion in year-end cash, Marchionne said, giving a range between that figure and $6 billion while declining to be more specific. U.S. sales fell 36 percent in 2009, the most of any major automaker.

Marchionne, 57, cited the risk of the collapse of Turin, Italy-based Fiat almost six years ago as making that automaker’s turnaround more difficult. He became CEO of Auburn Hills, Michigan-based Chrysler in June when Fiat took a 20 percent stake as the U.S. company left a government-backed bankruptcy.

“Fiat is much larger than Chrysler,” Marchionne said. “I didn’t have the U.S. Treasury there to cut me a check and keep me in business.”

Marchionne has promised to repay government borrowing by 2014, three years ahead of schedule, while more than doubling global sales and integrating Fiat and Chrysler products, Bloomberg.com reported.

Fiat, Italy’s largest automaker, faced the prospect of failure when Marchionne took over in 2004 as the company headed for a fourth straight annual loss. He negotiated a $2 billion settlement with the former General Motors Corp. to end its obligation to buy Fiat and completed a debt-for-equity swap.

Shares of Fiat have gained 78 percent since June 1, 2004, when Marchionne was named CEO.