Matthias Mueller, VW Group’s boss said that they are not open to merger talks with Fiat-Chrysler, following comments from the latter’s top man.
With PSA buying Opel from General Motors, Fiat-Chrysler’s CEO Sergio Marchionne expressed his certainty that the VW Group would soon come knocking with a merger offer for FCA.
He justified his opinion saying that the PSA-Opel combination threatens VW the most, creating a No.2 on its heels, meaning the second largest car company in the European region.
“I have no doubt that at the relevant time VW may show up and have a chat”, said Marchionne during the Geneva Motor Show to Bloomberg.
To which Matthias Mueller responded a day later saying to Reuters “We are not ready for talks about anything. I haven’t seen Marchionne for months.”
“We have other problems,” Mueller added, closing the door to FCA.
It’s worth noting that the PSA-Opel deal is leaving FCA in a more difficult position in Europe, where its market share is only about 7 percent while its operating margin of 2.5 percent lags most rivals.
Mueller’s rejection follows the similar treatment from GM to FCA, despite Marchionne’s saying that the U.S. company is still his favorite merger candidate and despite their decision to exit Europe by selling Opel.
“We weren’t interested before and we’re even less interested now,” GM President Dan Ammann told reporters in Geneva.
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