Fiat Chrysler CEO confirms targets despite difficult Brazil
Fiat Chrysler Automobiles will meet its 2014 targets even though the Brazilian car market is set to remain difficult and Europe is showing no sign of improvement, Chief Executive Sergio Marchionne said on Friday.
_0">"At the group level, we'll achieve them. This is not a problem," Marchionne told reporters on the sidelines of an event in Venice.
Asked about a possible stabilisation of the situation in class="mandelbrot_refrag">Brazil, he said: "Fiat will maintain its market share in the ups and downs. We expected it to be a difficult year. We see a difficult year until the elections."
"The World Cup is distracting everyone but elections are the real problem," he added.
A sluggish class="mandelbrot_refrag">economy, expiring tax breaks and weak exports have put the brakes on Brazil's car industry, stoking fears of lay-offs in an election year.
Marchionne said he saw no sign of changes in the European car market, which this year would remain "more or less in line" with 2013. "Its not a healthy growth," he said.
Asked whether Fiat would be able to reduce losses in Europe in spite of higher investments, he said it would depend on the performance of its luxury brand Maserati given that costs in its mass-market segment had been cut to the bone.
On press reports of talks with Mitsubishi for a venture in pick-ups, Marchionne said: "We continue to talk with everyone including Mitsubishi."
(Reporting by Danilo Masoni; editing by Lisa Jucca and Tom Pfeiffer)
