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Article: Awkward GM-Fiat alliance had benefits but was doomed to fail.(SUPP)
- Article from:
- Automotive News
- Article date:
- September 15, 2008
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2008 Crain Communications, Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Byline: Dave Guilford
The conventional wisdom is that General Motors bought its 20 percent share of Fiat Auto in 2000 to head off DaimlerChrysler, which was stalking Fiat.
But that's only partially true, says GM executive Larry Burns, who managed GM's alliance relationships. GM also was motivated by a hitch in its global deal-making strategy elsewhere in the world.
Prior to the Fiat deal, GM was losing ground in its attempt to buy assets of bankrupt Korean automaker Daewoo. Ford Motor Co. elbowed its way ahead of GM with a $7 billion bid. That left GM lacking small cars for developing markets.
"We were concerned because we really ...