FCA boss Sergio Marchionne says that despite many of the industry’s leading carmakers slowly getting into the mobility business, he will not follow suit.
During an interview with Automobile Magazine, Marchionne said he didn’t want to buy into the mobility market like many automakers, including General Motors, have.
“Contrary to what some of my colleagues believe, we are not in the mobility business. We don’t move people around. There was a time when everyone started buying rental car companies because we thought that was an easy sales channel.”
“For similar reasons, we were in the finance business. But at the end of the day, we are only building the tools that allow people to be mobile. I don’t want to buy into the distribution machine like GM did by paying $500 million for a 10-percent stake in Lyft,” said Marchionne.
Alongside GM, Ford has been a proponent of turning into a mobility company in recent years, as consumer demands shift from wanting to own private cars to ride-hailing and ride-sharing services. BMW and Daimler are also jumping on board with services of their own.
In an intriguing opinion piece, a Bloomberg’s Chris Bryant suggests that carmakers are “chucking around money, hoping something sticks” and that they shouldn’t lose sight of selling more vehicles in order to remain relevant.
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