Chrysler no longer owned by US Gov.

Sweet.

http://wot.motortrend.com/fiat-buys-treasury-stake-becomes-majority-shareholder-chrysler-83649.html

Italian automaker Fiat has officially purchased the U.S. government’s six-percent stake in Chrysler, making Fiat the new Chrysler majority shareholder, a move that has been widely anticipated. With the purchase, Fiat’s ownership of Chrysler will move from 46 to 52 percent.


According to Automotive News, Fiat paid roughly $500 million for the government’s 98,461 Chrysler shares. The purchase of the government shares comes roughly two years after Chrysler declared bankruptcy on June 10, 2009. The U.S. Treasury initially invested $12.5 billion in Chrysler in 2009, and has so far recovered some $11.2 billion from the company to date.

Chrysler had already repaid about $6.5 million in loans to the U.S. Treasury in late May, allowing Fiat to increase its stake in Chrysler from 30 to 46 percent. Reports suggest that the company’s next move will be to purchase the 1.7-percent stake in Chrysler currently held by the Canadian government.

With majority control of the company, Fiat-Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne will be able to have a direct role in shaping Chrysler’s future. Among his plans are a new generation of minivans; according to the Detroit News, Marchionne wants a more flexible platform for the next version of Chrysler’s vans, permitting narrower bodies to appeal to European customers, as well as the return of all-wheel drive. Chrysler dropped optional all-wheel-drive systems from its minivans in 2004; the Toyota Sienna is currently the only minivan in the U.S. to offer all-wheel drive.

Marchionne has reportedly accelerated the development of new Chrysler minivans from a 2014 launch to 2013. There will be a traditional-style minivan, as well as a “people carrier.” Marchionne has previously said that Chrysler and Dodge versions of the next-gen minivan will be divergent — perhaps one brand will have the “traditional” van and the other the “people carrier.” The vans will continue to be built in Windsor, Ontario.

The Detroit News reports that Chrysler’s next minivan platform could also spawn a small “lifestyle” pickup truck to be built in North America. No big surprise there: we had previously heard that Dodge would launch a small, unibody truck by 2013, and that it would be built on the same minivan line in Windsor.