How Fiat Chrysler Sped From Laggard to Leader in Detroit
By“We went from survival mode in 2009 to a level of stability with a balance sheet and resources that we have never enjoyed in the past,” Mike Manley, chief executive of Fiat Chrysler, told reporters on Monday at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit.CreditCreditBrendan Mcdermid/Reuters
DETROIT — A decade ago, Chrysler was the weakest of the three Detroit automakers and staved off collapse with the help of a government-backed bankruptcy. Today, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles appears to be the sturdiest by many measures, in large part because it stopped making sedans well before its competitors.
The company’s chief executive, Mike Manley, said Monday that Fiat Chrysler was strong enough that it no longer needed a merger or an alliance — options it was pursuing as recently as a year ago…