“They got carried away by the enthusiasm of the victory over Brazil. Winning the cup is one thing…”. Sergio Marchionne, number one at Fiat-Chrysler, does not miss the opportunity to make a joke in commenting on the news released last week by the German press on a possible agreement between the Italian-American company and Volkswagen. The manager then announced that the group's IPO on Wall Street would take place in the first two weeks of October.
In more serious tones, the managing director then barred the door to any possible speculation on the German trail: "The hypothesis is closed, it never happened". To reporters who pressed him asking if integration with Chrysler could be a dream for Volkswagen, Marchionne replied sarcastically: "I don't have the slightest idea of what they dream, I don't have this level of intimacy".
On July 17th, the German monthly Manager Magazin had written that the Volkswagen group would be evaluating the partial or total purchase of Fiat-Chrysler, but the two car manufacturers would still be far from reaching an agreement. The denial of Fiat had arrived shortly.
