1:15 pm – Fiat, the symbolic company of Italy



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Fiat, a symbol of Italy, has achieved a spectacular turnaround under the thumb of Sergio Marchionne but finds itself for the first time in the hands of a non-Italian

The history of Fiat (Fabbrica Italiana Automobili Torino), founded in 1899 in Turin (north), is linked to that of the Peninsula through the charismatic figure of the "Avvocato" Gianni Agnelli

Friend of the mighty, the legendary boss, who played in 1966 in 1996 the company launched by his grandfather, was the Italian ambbadador, ensuring Fiat a place among the great of the automobile.

His grandson, John Elkann, took the Group presidency in 2010, just 34 years old, replacing Luca Cordero di Montezemolo, another figure in the Italian economy. The Agnelli family still controls the company with more than 30% of the capital.

Its mascot, the Fiat 500, has made its reputation around the world, especially thanks to the cinema that made it popular. It was revamped in 2007 with undeniable success

The group owns the brands Fiat, Lancia, Alfa Romeo and Maserati. On the other hand, CNH (agricultural machinery and construction machinery) and Iveco (trucks and buses) are now united in a separate group, CNH Industrial, also controlled by the Agnelli family.

At the end of 2017, the FCA group had 159 factories and 236,000 employees worldwide, 65,000 of them in Italy, where it remains the largest private employer.

However, activity has changed in the peninsula, like the historic Mirafiori factory in Turin, which was selling 500,000 cars a year in the 1960s and was redirected to the more elite production of SUV Alfa Romeo and Maserati.

At the edge of the chasm in the early 2000s, the group has climbed dramatically and reconnected with profits in 2005, led by Mr. Marchionne

In the wake of the 2008 crisis, Fiat allied with Chrysler, leaving the bankruptcy filing, gradually taking control of the US manufacturer. 19659002] The itali group on the other hand failed to take over the German Opel.

Fiat had a slump in 2009 because of the global crisis, before recovering and accumulating record years, even reaching the end of June to reduce to zero its net industrial debt, especially thanks to the spectacular results of Jeep, arrived at the lap of Chrysler.

M. Marchionne had begun organizing his estate to retire in 2019. And it is Mike Manley, a discreet British, who finds himself at the helm.

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