Jesse Snyder and Robert Sherefkin, Automotive News
Detroit, Michigan -- Suppliers are jockeying for work on vehicles that Fiat SpA will build in North America after it takes over Chrysler llc.
Under the Chrysler viability plan submitted to the Treasury Department on 17 Feb, five Fiat platforms would be made in North America by 2012. That plan calls for Fiat designs to replace Chrysler's low-end car line and add smaller cars and SUVs in segments in which Chrysler is absent.
The 1998 merger of Daimler-Benz and Chrysler was "a catalyst to bring more German suppliers to North America," says Michele Vannini, North American head of Italian engine maker VM Motori SpA "The same thing can happen for Italian suppliers with Fiat and Chrysler."
Three Fiat subsidiaries - parts maker Magneti Marelli, casting specialist Teksid and automation provider Comau - are in the best position. Each is established in North America.
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