The outspoken executive had been persistent in his pursuit of GM in particular, contacting CEO Mary Barra and later making public pleas. Reports suggest he even attempted to recruit activist investors and hedge-fund managers to pressure the company.
GM has remained dismissive of the efforts, voicing confidence that its own cost-cutting strategies outweigh any potential benefits from another merger. Both companies continue to face difficulty in Europe, and sources have told Bloomberg that GM is fearful that a merger would likely bring long-term setbacks to its existing turnaround efforts in the Old Continent.
PSA/Peugeot-Citroen has been named as one of Marchionne’s Plan Bs, but the French automaker was previously listed among the companies that allegedly rejected the idea. Volskwagen is another possibility, but the German company has also said that it isn’t seeking any merger.
The FCA chief has argued that the automotive industry is due for another big consolidation, which he claims will help companies save billions in shared development costs. Critics point out that such promises frequently fail to materialize, and Chrysler’s own temporary merger with Daimler has been cited as one example of such difficulties.
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