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History
The following section is an excerpt from Wikipedia's Fiat Chrysler Automobiles page on 2 August 2019, text available via the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.
Fiat Chrysler Automobiles N.V., often abbreviated as FCA, is an Italian-American multinational corporation and is the world's eighth largest auto maker. The group was established in October 2014 by merging Fiat and Chrysler into a new holding company. Fiat Chrysler Automobiles' main headquarters are located in the Netherlands, and the financial headquarters are in London for tax purposes. The holding company is listed on the New York Stock Exchange and Borsa Italiana in Milan. Exor N.V., an Italian investment group controlled by the Agnelli family, owns 29.19% of FCA and controls 44.31% through a loyalty voting mechanism.
FCA's mass-market brands operate through two main subsidiaries: FCA Italy (previously Fiat Group Automobiles SpA) headquartered in Turin; and FCA US (previously Chrysler Group LLC) headquartered in Detroit. The company's portfolio includes automotive brands Abarth, Alfa Romeo, Chrysler, Dodge, Fiat, Fiat Professional, Jeep, Lancia, Maserati, and Ram Trucks. Ferrari was spun off from the group in 2016. Today FCA operates in four global markets (NAFTA, LATAM, APAC, EMEA).
FCA also owns industrial subsidiaries Comau and Teksid.
The integration between Fiat and Chrysler dates back to 2009 after Chrysler filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization on 30 April 2009. On 10 June 2009, Chrysler emerged from the bankruptcy proceedings with the United Auto Workers pension fund, Fiat, and the U.S. and Canadian governments as principal owners. Fiat's initial purchase was a 20% stake in the company. By January 2012, Fiat's equity stake in Chrysler grew to 58.5%. On 21 January 2014 Fiat completed the acquisition of the remaining 41.5% from the United Auto Workers, making Chrysler Group a wholly owned subsidiary. On February 2, 2014, Fiat Chrysler began trading on the NYSE under the ticker symbol "FCAU". Overall, to acquire Chrysler cost Fiat US$4.9 billion, with an additional US$5.5 billion pension liability.
On 29 January 2014 Fiat announced a reorganization and intended merger into a new holding company.
Fiat S.p.A. and Chrysler Group LLC merged into FCA on 12 October 2014 following approval of the board on 15 June 2014 and shareholders on 1 August 2014.
On 29 October 2014 the group announced the intention to separate Ferrari S.p.A. from FCA. The transaction was completed on 3 January 2016.
On July 14, 2015, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV chief executive Sergio Marchionne and Dennis Williams, President of the United Auto Workers (UAW) entered into negotiations on July 14, 2015. As negotiations between the UAW and "Detroit Three automakers" began, "Marchionne leaned in to embrace Williams in a hug seen "round the world," shocking some union members. When Marchionne made the announcement on January 8, 2017 that Chrysler planned to add 2,000 jobs and invest $1 billion to manufacture the Jeep Wagoneer and Grand Wagoneer at the Warren Truck Assembly and to make a new Jeep Wrangler pickup at its Toledo Assembly South plant in Toledo, Ohio by 2020, Marchionne credited the decision to the negotiations with Williams that began in 2015.
On January 13, 2017, the company came under investigation by the U.S. Justice Department due to allegedly failing to disclose software that violated emissions standards and allowed vehicles to exceed pollution limits. On May 23, 2017, the Justice Department filed a civil lawsuit alleging that FCA "used a 'defeat device' to circumvent emission controls" in more than 100,000 vehicles between 2014 and 2016.
In January 2016, Ferrari became a separate investment of Exor, siding with FCA and CNH, after FCA listed 10% of the company on the NYSE in October 2015, and then distributed their remaining 80% stake in Ferrari to FCA shareholders. Ferrari now trades on the NYSE under the ticker symbol "RACE".
FCA also operated in the print media and advertising fields through its Italiana Editrice subsidiary (publisher of the Italian La Stampa and Il Secolo XIX newspapers) and an interest in RCS Media Group. In March 2017, FCA was a stakeholder in the creation of Italy's largest media group GEDI Gruppo Editoriale, created by the merger of Gruppo Editoriale L'Espresso publishing L'espresso and La Repubblica with Italiana Editrice (ITEDI), of which FCA held 77% of the shares and which publishes the Torino daily La Stampa and Il Secolo XIX. Subsequently, FCA divested from publishing by distributing their shares to its own shareholders, again mainly Exor, so to concentrate on automobile business. Exor sold their shares in GEDI right after getting them.
On July 21, 2018, FCA's chief executive Marchionne was suddenly replaced in all of his positions at FCA, Ferrari, SGS and CNH following emergency meetings of each respective company's board of directors the day before. Marchionne last appeared in public on June 26 in Italy, where he appeared to be quite lethargic and fatigued. FCA stated on July 5 that he had taken medical leave to undergo surgery to his right shoulder and on the day of his replacement stated that he would not be able to return to work due to post-surgical complications. It was later reported that his health had deteriorated "suddenly and sharply" and that Marchionne had lapsed into a coma. Sergio Marchionne died on July 25, 2018, aged 66. In July 2018, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV's European chief Alfredo Altavilla resigned after being passed over to replace Marchionne.
In January 2019, Fiat Chrysler agreed to pay $800 million to settle lawsuits related to diesel emissions.
In February 2019, Fiat Chrysler announced to invest $4.5 Billion in Manufacturing in Michigan. The plant is estimated to create nearly 6,500 jobs. Plans include $1.6 billion to build a Jeep factory in Detroit.
In May 2019, Fiat Chrysler proposed merging its business with Renault. The proposal was later withdrawn.