(ANSA) - Fiat expects to enter into a new strategic alliance before the end of the year, Fiat Group CEO Sergio Marchionne announced here on Tuesday.
Speaking at a press conference to present Fiat's new Grande Punto model, Marchionne said "this will be an industrial alliance, not a financial one. And it will be a focused, as we said after closing our negotiations with General Motors."
"Work on the alliance is in progress and we hope to wrap it up by the end of the year. All I can say now is that the partner is not Asian," Marchionne added. During the press conference, the Fiat chief also confirmed that there were no plans to close down any plants in Italy.
"On August 3 we told both unions and the government that there would be no shutdowns. The development plan for Fiat Auto's three marques and that of Maserati will be guaranteed through the employment of 100% of our labor force in Italy," he explained.
"It's time people stopped talking about the overcapacity of our Italian plants," the Fiat chief added.
Turning his attention to Fiat financial situation, Marchionne said that "by the end of September Fiat's indebtedness will be below 50% of its net asset value."
"The debt reduction was in large part thanks to the settlement from GM, the fact that the conversion of loans into stocks will take place September 27 and out exit from Italengergia will be finalises in the coming days," he explained.
"Unfortunately, the debt reduction was not due to operative structural results. We expect these to come in 2006," Marchionne said.
"The targets we set for 2005 are within reach thanks to better sales for CNH and Iveco and reducing loses in car sector by two third in the second quarter of the year," the CEO added.
CNH is Fiat's American tractor and farm machinery subsidy, while Iveco is its Italian truck and heavy vehicle division.
Last February Fiat and GM agreed to end their master agreement, after five years of industrial cooperation, in a deal which allowed Fiat to pocket $2 billion and the Detroit giant to avoid the risk of having to buy out the loss-making Fiat Auto.
The 2000 agreement involved the Detroit giant buying a 20% stake in Fiat Auto for $2.4 billion and agreeing to buy out the rest in the event Fiat decided to sell.
The Grande Punto is a revamped version of Fiat's top-selling Punto, a mid-sized compact car of which six million of which were sold in Europe. The new model is slightly larger and was developed by Italdesign-Giugiaro together with the Fiat Style Center.
