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This is Fiat Chrysler's biggest problem
(Thomson Reuters)
FCA CEO Sergio Marchionne.
Outwardly, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles looks as if it's doing great.
The carmaker, long the most vulnerable of the Detroit "Big Three" (GM and Ford are the other two), spent the 2000s in limbo, owned first by Daimler, then by the private-equity firm Cerberus, and finally by Fiat in a bailout-and-bankruptcy deal engineered by the federal government.
FCA's recovery has been impressive: It posts month after month of positive sales in the US and has benefited fantastically well from the SUV boom, thanks to the Jeep brand.
So naturally, CEO Sergio Marchionne has made it his quixotic mission in life to get FCA merged with another major automaker. He took a shot at GM last year and was rebuffed. Now he's again making the rounds. The reason is simple: He doesn't think FCA can ride out the next downturn in the industry.
At Bloomberg Gadfly, Chris Bryant zeroes in on FCA's biggest problem — and it has nothing to do with cars:
Unlike many rivals, FCA lacks a captive finance arm. That puts it a competitive disadvantage. When sales slow, automakers with stronger balance sheets can borrow cheaply and use to proceeds to, in effect, subsidize price cuts. The company has tried to address that with a partnership with Santander to provide financing for customers.
