Fiat Chrysler CEO Won’t Join Mobility Race
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The impact of emerging technologies on the automotive sector stands as a key issue in the eyes of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles’ CEO Sergio Marchionne who highlights electrification and autonomy as the next areas that could dramatically shape the industry.
Marchionne's take on the current trend for automakers to add mobility services to their product portfolios is raising eyebrows: "Contrary to what some of my colleagues believe, we are not in the mobility business. We don’t move people around." Marchionne declared, firing a shot at companies like GM, Ford, Daimler, and BMW who have all partnered with, or created mobility services division to act in similar ways to on-demand ride hailing and car-share services like Uber and Lyft.
"At the end of the day, we are only building the tools that allow people to be mobile," he explained, comparing the current trend towards mobility with previous attempts by automakers to buy rental car fleets as a way of ensuring in-built demand, despite negative effects on other areas of their business.
Connected technologies also play a role in the future of Marchionne's vision for FCA, but again he sees collaboration with specialist firms, rather than in-house development as the right approach to bring more services to the range. "We have no skills to provide such services. But there are partners out there who would love to share their skills. Now this could be a business model that works," he explained.
Marchionne's take on the current trend for automakers to add mobility services to their product portfolios is raising eyebrows: "Contrary to what some of my colleagues believe, we are not in the mobility business. We don’t move people around." Marchionne declared, firing a shot at companies like GM, Ford, Daimler, and BMW who have all partnered with, or created mobility services division to act in similar ways to on-demand ride hailing and car-share services like Uber and Lyft.
"At the end of the day, we are only building the tools that allow people to be mobile," he explained, comparing the current trend towards mobility with previous attempts by automakers to buy rental car fleets as a way of ensuring in-built demand, despite negative effects on other areas of their business.
Connected technologies also play a role in the future of Marchionne's vision for FCA, but again he sees collaboration with specialist firms, rather than in-house development as the right approach to bring more services to the range. "We have no skills to provide such services. But there are partners out there who would love to share their skills. Now this could be a business model that works," he explained.
