Fiat

Fiat S.p.A. (also known as the FIAT Group) (NYSE: FIA) is an automobile manufacturer, financial and industrial group based in Turin, Northern Italy. more...

The name is an acronym for Fabbrica Italiana Automobili Torino (Italian Car Factory of Turin), founded by a group of investors--Giovanni Agnelli among them--in 1899. His grandson Gianni Agnelli was Fiat chairman from 1966 until his death on January 24, 2003. However, from 1996, he only served as an "honorary" chairman. After his removal as leader, Paolo Fresco served as CEO and Paolo Cantarella as chairman. Umberto Agnelli then took over as chairman from 2002 to 2004. After Umberto Agnelli's death on May 28, 2004, Luca Cordero di Montezemolo was named chairman, but Agnelli heir John Elkann became vice chairman at age 28 and other family members are on the board. At this point, CEO Giuseppe Morchio immediately offered his resignation. Sergio Marchionne was named to replace him on June 1, 2004.

Activities

The group's activities were initially focused on the industrial production of cars, industrial and agricultural vehicles. Over time it has diversified into many other fields, and the group now has activities in a wide range of sectors in industry and financial services. It is Italy's largest industrial concern. It also has significant worldwide operations, operating in 61 countries with 1,063 companies that employ over 223,000 people, 111,000 of whom are outside Italy.

Fiat corporation, starting from the late 1960s, has bought (or gained control of) a wide range of companies, including:

• Car companies are run by Fiat Auto and Ferrari. Fiat Auto runs well known firms like Lancia, Autobianchi (already bought by Lancia), Alfa Romeo, Fiat, Innocenti, and Citroën (sold shortly afterward in 1976). Fiat also owns some brands of industrial vehicles including OM and Iveco. Ferrari and Maserati are owned by the Fiat Group, but both are run by Ferrari. Light automobile sales accounted for 46.8% of total revenues during fiscal 2004 (3.2% of which is from Ferrari).²

• Agricultural and construction vehicles - Fiat group also owns CNH Global (which includes: Case Construction, Case IH, Flexi-Coil, Kobelco, New Holland, New Holland Construction, and Steyr); and Fiat-Hitachi Construction. CNH is the second largest agricultural equipment manufacturer in the world after Deere & Company. It is also the third largest producer of construction equipment after Caterpillar Inc. and Komatsu. CNH accounts for 20.9% of revenues.³ CNH is the most prized company inside Fiat because it has driven growth and is very profitable. It also shows great promise for growth in third-world markets.⁴

• Buses - produced with the Fiat, Iveco or Irisbus names.

• Aviation - aircraft and related components were produce by FiatAvio (now Avio, an independent company), which also controls EVL, a space industry.

• Military vehicles, see Ariete

• Vehicle components - the major Italian component maker Magneti-Marelli is owned by Fiat, and in turn owns the other brands Carello, Automotive Lighting, Siem, Cofap, Jaeger, Solex, Veglia Borletti, Vitaloni and Weber; other accessory brands include Riv-Skf and Brazilian Cofap.

• Steelmaking and metallurgy - Fiat owns a metal company, Teksid, and produces machines for the industry (also for car factories) through Comau (now Comau Systems), which bought the American Pico, Renault Automation and Sciaky.

• Publishing - notably, Fiat group also owns important editorial brands, like La Stampa (created in 1926 for the famous newspaper), Itedi, and Italiana Edizioni. Some national and local newspapers are owned or otherwise controlled by the different companies. A specialised advertising space reseller is Publikompass, supported by the Consorzio Fiat Media Center.

• Financial services - An important insurance company, Toro Assicurazioni, allows Fiat to control a relevant part of this market (also with minor companies like Lloyd Italico, Augusta Assicurazioni) and to interact with some associated banks.

• Construction - Ingest Facility and Fiat Engineering work in various fields of construction, while IPI is a mediation company that also deals with the management of real estate properties.

• Information technology - Fiat is present in IT fields and in communications with ICT - Information & Communication Technology, Espin, Global Value, TeleClient, and Atlanet.

• Leisure The group owns the Sestriere skiing facilities (being this village on Alps a creation of Agnelli family).

In the 1970s and 1980s, the company became a pioneer in the use of industrial robotics for the assembly of motor vehicles. Fiat assembly plants are among the most automated and advanced in the world.

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