FCA May Start Spinning Off Brands

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles has been trying to hook up with pretty much any other automaker for some time. It’s been pretty desperate, but hopefully not desperate enough to sell Jeep to Great Wall. Things are so bad, supposedly, that top brass at FCA is kicking around the idea of spinning off a couple of brands. I mean a couple more, in case you forgot Ferrari used to be part of the company (Ferrari wants you to forget that).

The two brands that FCA is looking to dump… er, spinoff, to increase its value are Maserati and Alfa Romeo, according to a recent Automotive News Europe report. Just keep in mind Automotive News was the publication that claimed FCA had a serious deal with Great Wall in the works, only for that whole thing to be revealed as some sick, humorless rumor.

If you think about it, Maserati and Alfa Romeo are both dead weight. Hell, throw in Fiat while you’re at it, because it’s not doing much. But to be honest, it’s doing more than its Italian siblings.

Maserati was supposed to be the replacement, premium brand for Ferrari. It didn’t step up in a big way, with sales still tepid, even after launching an SUV that you’ll sometimes see getting towed to shops (and by sometimes, I mean all the time).

Alfa Romeo has had it even worse. The Giulia has broken down during tests. Sure, it looks great in the service bay at your local dealer.

Will FCA spin off these two Italian brands? At this point, the FCA circus couldn’t get much crazier, I hope.