Has Fiat’s Run Finally Ended?

Various reports today indicate that both the German government and General Motors (GM) want to sell Opel—a cherished German brand that no one has ever heard of and the main European division of GM—not to Fiat but to Canadian-Austrian auto-parts supplier Magna.

Looks like Fiat is at the bottom of a list of four suitors. This has to be considered a setback to Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne, who’s on the verge of taking a large stake in Chrysler as it emerges from bankruptcy. Marchionne wanted Opel, too, in order to create a global auto conglomerate with sufficient manufacturing capacity to build 5.5 million vehicles per year. This is Marchionne’s magic number for viability in the auto business.

The Germans were “disappointed” with Fiat’s offer, which if it in any way resembled the Chrysler deal, meant that the Italian carmaker would cherry-pick Opel from GM for nothing, with financing to follow from the German government. Sergio would then start cutting jobs as a function of cobbling together organizing his ungainly polyglot mega-carmaker. So, sure, we can understand why the Germans don’t want to play that. Plus, Magna’s ties to Austria might sound more palatable than turning a German brand that dates to the 19th century over to the Italians.

But still—it’s Sergio Marchionne! A one-man car-company takeover machine! He can’t be stopped! Until he is …

Actually, this could be a problem for Marchionne—unless he decides to give up on Opel and go after Saab, another brand that GM wants to cut loose and that has strong ties to the Swedish government and, one assumes, yet more bailout money! The Swedes have at times in the past month seemed more interested in this idea than Marchionne. Closer to home, Marchionne is catching some flak from the Italian government over plans to streamline Fiat operations by closing plants. The man has been playing the worldwide auto business and various national governments like fiddles, but unless the auto task force steps in, his dazzling performance may be drawing to a close.