Without question, the pivotal efforts of Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne and his sharp business foresight earned the automaker and all brands underneath its umbrella newfound success. In fact, the month of May marked Chrysler's 12th consecutive month of sales gains of more than 20% for the company. This performance also allowed it to gain an additional 2 percent of the U.S. market share.
Despite the awesome run, Detroit Free Press reported that Marchionne is concerned of the road ahead. During an Italian-U.S. relations conference in Venice on Friday, Sergio Marchionne shared his thoughts of the sovereign debt crisis in Europe: "We keep on hearing drastic changes. I think someone had better do something before we get to the point of no return."
"We are in transition from the impossible to the inevitable without stopping at the probable. It's a horrible situation."
Reuter reports on Marchionne elaborates, "If the euro disintegrates, European car sales could fall to below 10 million." By comparison, European sales tallied 13.1 million last year. With the auto industry still in recovery mode after the 2008 credit crunch and the disaster in Japan last year, the possible break up of the Euro currency spells a big "uh-oh" for the sector.
While concerned, the numbers are tentative and the Eurozone hasn't failed just yet. Marchionne is confident that Chrysler sales will act as an effective buffer against the volatility in Europe and besides, considering that most of Fiat's revenue and earnings are generated beyond the Eurozone, Marchionne said, "We still have to see the number of June car sales but right now I see no reason to widen our target range."
