Francois appointment points to more cooperation between Chrysler and Lancia
 

<p>Filed under: <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/category/hirings-firings/" rel="tag">Hirings/Firings/Layoffs</a>, <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/category/marketing-advertising/" rel="tag">Marketing/Advertising</a>, <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/category/chrysler/" rel="tag">Chrysler</a>, <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/category/fiat/" rel="tag">Fiat</a></p><a href="http://www.autonews.com/article/20091006/COPY01/310069970/1302"><img vspace="4" hspace="4" border="1" align="right" alt="" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2009/10/olivier-francois.jpg" /></a>Amidst the <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/2009/10/05/dodge-announces-exec-appointments-tied-to-new-dodge-car-and-ram/">confirmation</a> that chief executive Sergio Marchionne was splitting off the Dodge Ram truck unit into its own division of the Chrysler Group came the announcement of some executive re-shuffles in Auburn Hills. Among them, Lancia CEO Olivier Francois was appointed head of the Chrysler brand. But according to the latest reports, the sharing of a chief executive is only the tip of the North Atlantic iceberg for cooperation between the Chrysler and Lancia.<br /> <br />Long subsisting like it's the Plymouth of the Fiat Group, Lancia lacks a strong product portfolio. But while it isn't expected to join its sister brands in the transatlantic journey to the American market, the sharing and co-development of new products with Chrysler could get the quirky Fiat division back on track. <br /> <br /> Among those products that stand to be shared between the two quasi-premium brands are the next-generation models of the Chrysler 300 (which could underpin a replacement for the <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/2009/01/04/lancia-to-cancel-top-of-the-line-thesis-this-year/">discontinued Lancia Thesis</a>), Chrysler Sebring, and Lancia Ypsilon hatchback.<br /> <br /> Meanwhile, Francois, who joined Fiat in 2005 from his position as a regional manager for Citro&euml;n, is emerging as a rising star within both auto groups: his responsibilities now put him in charge of both Chrysler and Lancia, as well as marketing, advertising and branding for no less than nine brands: Fiat, Fiat Professional, Abarth, Alfa Romeo, Lancia, Chrysler, Jeep, Dodge and Ram. If it wasn't clear before, it's now plainly obvious who has <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/2009/01/15/fiat-marketing-chief-and-alfa-romeo-ceo-luca-de-meo-defects-to-vol/">replaced Luca de Meo</a> as Marchionne's right hand man.<br /> <br /> [Source: <a href="http://www.autonews.com/article/20091006/COPY01/310069970/1302">Automotive News</a> - subs. req'd]<p style="padding:5px;backgr ound:#ddd;border:1px solid #ccc;clear:both;"><a href="http://www.autoblog.com/2009/10/06/francois-appointment-points-to-more-cooperation-between-chrysler/">Francois appointment points to more cooperation between Chrysler and Lancia</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://www.autoblog.com">Autoblo g</a> on Tue, 06 Oct 2009 17:58:00 EST. Please see our <a href="http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.</p><h6 style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"></h6><a href=http://www.autonews.com/article/20091006/COPY01/310069970/1302>Read</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.autoblog.com/2009/10/06/francois-appointment-points-to-more-cooperation-between-chrysler/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.autoblog.com/forward/19185860/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.autoblog.com/2009/10/06/francois-appointment-points-to-more-cooperation-between-chrysler/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a>

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