Marchionne points to American auto-bankruptcies as example for Europeans

Fiat SpA and Chrysler Group CEO Sergio Marchionne said Monday that France, Germany, and other European countries have created an overcapacity of auto market participants through their subsidizing of the industry.

Marchionne lent particular mention to the French government’s decision to protect Renault and Peugeot by granting each a 3 billion euro, low-interest loan earlier this year. Moves such as that of the French government said Marchionne, create an unfair advantage in the market. He also claims that individual subsidies by European governments have led to a 30% production over capacity throughout the continent.

Marchionne commended President Obama for his decision to force Chrysler and GM through a bankruptcy process last spring, claiming that the move saved America from facing the same problems that the European market faces.

These comments come amidst pressure from the Italian government to increase Fiat’s Italian output to 900,000 units per year, which the CEO says is doable.

– By: Stephen Calogera

Source: Automotive News

Chris Chin

Chris Chin is the Editor-In-Chief of egmCarTech and is a regular contributor to Automobile Magazine.

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