Farewell to the name of Fiat, the final chapter and prelude of Italian cars
Text | Toretto
Just like the Italian opera that eventually ends, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) as the official name of the group is about to bid farewell to the stage of history.
Stellantis, which will be the name of the new group after the merger of FCA and PSA, comes from the Latin "stello", which means "illuminating with stars" and also represents "*** with the stars" Shine together."
This name, which has little to do with the history of both parties, indicates that the new group will be presented to the world with a new attitude and appearance.
Everything in the past is a prologue. Overture: Building the Ming Dynasty in the Crown of Turin
On August 13, 1866, Edoardo Agnelli, the mayor of Villar Perosa, Italy, gave birth to a son, and Edoardo named him Named Giovanni Agnelli. But when Giovanni was 5 years old, his 40-year-old father died for some reason.
After studying abroad and joining the army for more than ten years, Giovanni returned to Vilarparossa in 1893, and two years later, like his father, he became the mayor of the city.
Giovanni did not go too far on this road when he embarked on his official career, because he found something more worthy of investing his enthusiasm and energy: the "carriage" without horses, which is what the public calls it today. Familiar cars.
In 1898, Giovanni began looking for investors for his automobile project.
At the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century, Italy was in a stage of rapid industrial development. The new thing automobile also began to attract the attention of business owners. It was not difficult for Giovanni to find a group of like-minded people.
On July 11, 1899, Giovanni Agnelli and 9 Italian entrepreneurs and nobles jointly founded the Italian Turin Automobile Manufacturing Factory (Società? Anonima? Fabbrica? Italiana) with 80,000 lire. ?di?Automobili?Torino?, referred to as F.I.A.T.), in the first board of directors, Giovanni was elected Secretary General.
In the same year, its first model, the Fiat 4?HP, was also officially born. Its shape was very similar to the horse-drawn carriage at that time. It was equipped with a manually foldable roof. It had a top speed of 35km/h and a fuel consumption of 8L/ 100km, production was discontinued after 26 units were produced.
In 1900, the first factory of the Turin Automobile Factory was built in Via Dante, covering an area of 12,000 square meters and employing 150 employees. A year later, the Fiat 12 HP was born, and the "FIAT" logo appeared for the first time on a model produced by Fiat.
The turning point of Fiat's development occurred in 1902. That year, Giovanni was elected as the executive director. He advocated diversified production and had a keen insight into the future of automobiles. Therefore, in just a few years, Fiat has grown rapidly, with the number of employees increasing from 150 to 2,500.
The taxi market became a breakthrough for Giovanni to open up Fiat's popularity.
In 1908, Fiat produced 1,600 Fiat Fiacre taxis and put them on the market. These taxis appeared not only on the streets of Italy, but also on the streets of Paris, London and New York at that time. In the same year, Fiat Automobiles America was officially established. Fiat began to grow rapidly and established many branches around the world.
The outbreak of the two world wars caused Fiat to experience several ups and downs, and the Agnelli family also experienced ups and downs.
After World War I, Fiat was in crisis for a while, but it also expanded its commercial vehicles, engines, trucks and other businesses. In 1922, the Ringado factory was completed. As the largest automobile factory in Europe at the time, Fiat became Italy's largest automobile factory. Automobile industry symbol.
The person who put the company back on track was Giovanni Agnelli, who became the company's new CEO in 1923.
Before the outbreak of World War II, Fiat ushered in a new chapter in its automobile design in 1936. The Fiat 500 Topolino, built by designer Dante Giacosa, was officially launched. Because of its compact size and novel shape, it was favored by consumers. Many people called it "Little Mouse". It was the smallest mass-produced car in the world at that time.
The war once again interrupted Fiat's rapid upward momentum. Many factories were seriously damaged during the war, and production was almost completely at a standstill. The Agnelli family was also dragged into the water. In 1945, Giovanni was forced to retire because he was manufacturing vehicles for the Axis powers.
But Fiat soon recovered. The United States' European Renaissance Plan and the Italian economy, which was in dire straits, were opportunities. The automobile industry was an important driving force for rapid economic growth: in 1949, every 96 Italian residents Owning a car, by 1958 there was one car for every 28 inhabitants, and by 1963 there was one car for every 11 inhabitants, and Fiat's workforce once exceeded 85,000.
In the 1960s, Fiat regained its glory and the Agnelli family returned to the throne. Giovanni's grandson, Gianni Agnelli II, became Fiat's chairman in 1966.
He opened factories around the world, including in Russia (then the Soviet Union) and South America, and brought new industrial ideas with him - starting international alliances and joint ventures (such as Iveco).
At the same time, in addition to automobiles, Fiat has also successively established companies such as rail transit, aviation, Trattori trucks, engineering, Comau, Texi, and Magneti Marelli.
Under his control, Fiat grew into one of the most important companies in Italy. In 2003, Giovanni II passed away due to illness. The Economic and Commercial Office of the Chinese Embassy in Italy praised him as "Fiat". father".
In the automotive field, Fiat Group has also become a mainstream European automaker. One of the ways for the latter is to expand rapidly through "buy, buy, buy".
In 1969, the Italian car brand Lancia was acquired by Fiat and sold as the latter's high-end brand. In the same year, Fiat Group purchased 50% of Ferrari's original shares and had the right of first refusal for the remaining 50%. Fiat, which is developing rapidly, has successfully mastered the decision-making power of the two major Italian car brands.
Alfa Romeo, another Italian car company, was finally acquired by Fiat in November 1986. In 1993, Fiat took over Maserati.
At the end of the 20th century, Fiat Group was already a global automobile group with many brands and grew into the crown jewel of Turin. Interlude: Love and hate with General Motors?
“As long as Fiat nods, it can be completely merged into General Motors’ European business.” At the beginning of the 21st century, General Motors was determined to acquire Fiat Motors. company, which is in trouble.
In the 20th century, the Fiat Group under the control of the Agnelli family grew into a huge industrial group. While its automobile business supported half of the Italian market, it also provided 40% of the group's revenue.
But the turn of the century seemed to herald the rise and fall of the dynasty, and Fiat Automobile began to suffer continuous losses. In the first quarter of 2002, Fiat's operating losses were as high as 423 million euros. Fiat's European manufacturing plants could only produce 75% of its cars, but they had to reach 80% to be profitable.
For the whole of 2002, Fiat's operating losses totaled US$1.7 billion, and in 2003 the losses reached US$7 billion.
Shareholders are beginning to urge Fiat to sell its car business. The Agnelli family hoped to sell its automobile business to General Motors, the then global automobile leader.
The "bad relationship" between the two parties dates back to March 2000.
At that time, Fiat Group and General Motors formed a strategic alliance through equity swap. The latter spent nearly US$2.4 billion to acquire 20% of Fiat Automobile's shares, and at the same time let Fiat hold 5.1% of General Motors' shares. Italian car companies can also require General Motors to acquire the remaining shares of Fiat at market prices before January 24, 2004.
In the early days of the alliance, GM executives expressed their hope to completely acquire Fiat's automotive business. They have hired an American investment bank to evaluate the matter and formulate a detailed acquisition plan.
But as Fiat's financial situation deteriorated, GM regretted it.
In October 2003, GM stated that it was temporarily unable to "implement" the purchase commitment, and decided not to participate in the capital structure adjustment of the automobile company, and diluted its equity by half to 10%.
At the same time, Fiat also sold its shares in General Motors to raise cash, resulting in a pre-tax profit of $380 million. The relationship between the two parties began to crack.
The then Fiat-Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne (Sergio Marchionne) was extremely strong and insisted that General Motors defaulted. As an acquirer, the fate of this American car company turned out to be the acquisition target. Take control.
In the end, after careful weighing, General Motors decided to hemorrhage and completely break up with Fiat. On February 13, 2005, the two parties reached an agreement, and General Motors agreed to pay Fiat approximately US$1.99 billion, terminating the partnership between the two companies at a high price.
Relying on this life-saving money, Fiat got through the most difficult moments, and even successfully acquired the American car company Chrysler during the financial crisis.
But 10 years after the "breakup", Marchionne regretted it.
In March 2015, Marchionne wrote an email to General Motors CEO Mary Barra, detailing the merger plan between the two parties. He emphasized that cooperation between car companies to produce more fuel-efficient, environmentally friendly and safer cars can reduce investment costs and enhance profitability, but this proposal was flatly rejected by Mary Barra.
“We are merging with ourselves.” Mary said that General Motors has made great efforts to consolidate technology and create new models over the years. “We focus on our own plans and maintain our own scale, we will seize the right opportunity at the right time."
The then president of General Motors, Dan Ammann, directly stated at the Geneva Auto Show that year that GM had not been interested in mergers before. Even less interested now.
But Marchionne did not give up. Even though he did not want to directly hit the wall, he still hinted at GM on various occasions that he hoped to merge. At the 2017 Detroit Auto Show, when Trump threatened to impose tariffs on the auto industry, Marchionne directly told the media, "In my opinion, Trump would like the combination of General Motors and Chrysler."< /p>
However, when "proposing" to GM, Marchionne seemed to have forgotten that 10 years ago, he had used tough negotiations to get his former ally General Motors to pay a "breakup fee" of US$2 billion.
"He will not come back. He is the best CEO you can think of." FCA Chairman John Elkann did not hide his inner sadness.
On the evening of July 25, 2018, FCA CEO Marchionne, who had left office for only four days, died of illness in Zurich. ?
In his eyes, Sergio Marchionne is a great "fixer". This Italian who doesn't like suits and ties and always wears a black sweater has completed the work of his predecessor. What CEOs failed to do: Fix Fiat.
Sergio Marchionne
Marchionne was born in Gietti, Abruzzo, Italy, in 1952. When he was 14 years old, He immigrated to Toronto, Canada with his family, making him a dual citizen of Canada and Italy, and able to speak fluent English and Italian.
In his 20-year career after starting work, Marchionne has served as director, chief financial officer, CEO, etc. of various enterprise groups until he entered Fiat Group in May 2003 and became an independent member of the board of directors. After that, he officially began to associate with the automobile industry.
Since its development stagnated in 2000, Fiat Group's losses have continued to expand and it is a mess that needs to be turned around. In 2003, its losses reached US$7 billion. Analysts at Morgan Stanley said at the time that "restarting Fiat is one of the hardest jobs in the world today."
On June 1, 2004, when Umberto Agnelli passed away, Marchionne took over as Fiat CEO.
“Four years ago, I was the object of much ridicule.” Marchionne wrote in an article for the Harvard Business Review in 2008. “When I took office, both Some people hope that I can turn the tide and help the building collapse, and many people are waiting to see my jokes.
"
Since he became CEO in 2004, he has had almost no rest. He drinks espresso all year round and is also a heavy smoker. He only quit in 2017. People who worked with him said: " You can also receive his emails in the middle of the night and must respond promptly. ”
In the end, the desperate Marchionne became the one to turn the tide.
After taking over Fiat, he first used tough negotiations to hammer out a US$1.99 billion deal from General Motors. The breakup fee was a life-saving straw.
After receiving the "blood transfusion", Marchionne began to fully integrate Fiat's internal platform manufacturing resources and cooperated with Ford to produce the new mini car Fiat 500. Cooperating with Indian automaker Tata.
Within the group, he streamlined redundant organizations, closed inefficient factories, laid off thousands of employees, and significantly shortened the time for new cars to be launched. He also invested 10 billion. Euro expanded Fiat's production line and developed 20 new models in four years. In Marchionne's second year in charge of the group, Fiat achieved profitability. In 2007, Fiat sold 2.234 million cars worldwide. , with profits exceeding US$2.4 billion. Even under the influence of the financial crisis in 2008, Fiat's profits still reached US$2.1 billion, becoming one of the few automakers in the world that still achieved annual profits.
On April 30, 2009, Chrysler faced bankruptcy during the financial crisis. The third largest car company in the United States applied for bankruptcy protection from the government.
Marchionne seized the opportunity and on June 10. , Fiat Group took a stake in Chrysler and formed an alliance with it.
In the first quarter of 2011, Chrysler achieved a net profit of US$116 million. In 2014, Chrysler became a full subsidiary of Fiat. Capital subsidiary, Fiat Chrysler (FCA) was formally established, and the world's seventh largest automobile group was born.
Before Marchionne's death, FCA was on track, delivering approximately 4.74 million vehicles in 2017. , basically the same as in 2016, adjusted EBIT rose 16% to 7.1 billion euros, and the profit margin reached 6.4%
Sergio Marchionne
As. Ford Executive Chairman Bill Ford said: "Marchione is one of the industry's most respected leaders, and his creativity and bold determination have helped restore Chrysler to financial health and make FCA a profitable global automaker. . ”
On the day of Marchionne’s death, FCA released its 2018 semi-annual report. Adjusted EBIT in the first half of that year was 3.266 billion euros, a 4% decrease from the same period last year, and net profit reached 1.775 billion euros, a slight decline year-on-year. 1%.
FCA is in trouble again, looking for a way out, but it still fails to break out of Marchionne's blueprint. Inner, an entrepreneur with a financial background, saw the slump in the automobile industry, and therefore gave a famous speech "Confessions of a Capital Addict"
In his opinion, all major car companies are operating on the same technology. Duplicate investment is a waste and results in a low return on capital investment in the automotive industry. Therefore, the automotive industry will inevitably move towards integration.
Therefore, Marchionne, who only entered the automotive industry after the age of 50, has a negative view on "merger". "Revealing an almost crazy obsession.
In the fourteen years of Fiat, Volkswagen, General Motors, Ford, Peugeot, Mazda, Suzuki and many other car companies have become his merger targets, but All ended in failure.
GM’s first target was Renault.
On May 27, 2019, FCA submitted a non-binding proposal to the Renault Group’s board of directors. The letter proposed a 50:50 merger of the respective companies. According to the proposal, the two parties aimed to identify products and geographies where they could cooperate, especially in the development and commercialization of new technologies. , Renault's life is not easy. In 2018, Renault Group's global sales reached 3.9 million vehicles, a year-on-year increase of 3.2%, but its revenue was 57.419 billion euros, a year-on-year decrease of 2.3%; operating profit fell by 6.3% year-on-year.
In a bad environment, how to improve capital efficiency, reduce R&D costs, and speed up product development have become urgent issues that car companies need to solve. Cooperation with competitors has become a shortcut.
At the beginning of last year, the Volkswagen Group and the Ford Group announced the establishment of a global strategic alliance. The two parties will seek potential cooperation in electric models, autonomous driving and smart mobility services. At the end of February, the Daimler Group and the BMW Group announced in In-depth cooperation in the field of travel; on June 5, BMW Group and Jaguar Land Rover announced that the two parties will jointly develop electrification technology.
FCA has chosen a more radical approach, not just an alliance, but seeking a direct merger.
According to FCA’s estimates, the merger will have a high value-added effect for shareholders of both FCA and Groupe Renault. On top of the synergies of the existing alliance, it is expected to achieve annual run rate synergies of more than 5 billion euros (run ?rate?synergies). These effects will mainly come from the convergence of platforms, the integration of investments in powertrain and electrification, and economies of scale.
Due to the special nature of the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi alliance, the French government has also intervened, and the approval of the merger proposal has been delayed again and again. In the end, FCA chose to give up voluntarily.
“The political conditions for the successful advancement of the merger currently do not exist in France.” On June 6, 2019, FCA issued an announcement stating that the company had withdrawn the merger proposal sent to Renault ten days ago.
But Marchionne’s spirit of “having the courage to admit mistakes and not being afraid of being slapped in the face” is engraved on FCA, and the new merger target is still a French company-Peugeot Citroen Group PSA.
On October 31, 2019, FCA and PSA of France announced that they would form a new group in a 50-50 basis with the approval of the boards of directors of both parties.
Compared with Toyota and Volkswagen, these two car companies are relatively weak companies. The arrival of the new four modernizations will make it more difficult for the weak to survive, widening the gap with the leading companies, and staying together to keep warm. To survive the cold winter.
Stellantis, this is the name of the new group confirmed on July 15 this year, which means "shine with the stars". Many car brands under the two companies will be retained and remain the same. Like stars shining in the automotive field.
But recently, another theory has always been that FCA and PSA have stated that the cooperation between the two parties to jointly create Stellantis is a "merger of equals." However, according to the recently released Stellantis prospectus, From an accounting standards perspective, this is an acquisition of FCA by PSA.
According to the requirements of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), the acquirer (and the acquired party) must be identified. The prospectus shows, "Based on the evaluation of various indicators under IFRS? 3 accounting standards, as well as all Taking into account relevant matters and circumstances, FCA and PSA Group management decided to define PSA Group as the acquirer for accounting purposes."
At the same time, Stellantis's board of directors will have 11 directors, including 6. Nominated by PSA Group, PSA Group shareholders or employees, or current PSA Group executives.
To a certain extent, French car companies are the party that has made more profits from this merger. However, the acquirer and the acquired party are only in compliance with the rules, and the equity held by both parties in the new company is still equal.
On January 4, 2021, shareholders will vote on the merger, and the process will be completed in the first quarter of next year. By then, Stellantis, headquartered in the Netherlands, will replace FCA and PSA as the new name of the group, and the four letters FIAT in FCA will no longer appear in the group name.
The name of Fiat Group is about to bid farewell to the stage of history, but as a car brand, Italian cars will still usher in a new chapter, and the prelude to another big drama is blowing.
But, can this Italian car brand become the brightest star among Stellantis’ stars in the future?
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This article comes from the author of Autohome Chejiahao and does not represent the views and positions of Autohome.