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Chrysler and Fiat may be in bed together, but mergers (or takeovers, for lack of a better term) are nothing new in business – and ESPECIALLY in the automotive industry. Here’s a look back at some of the better publicized Auto Maker love affairs through history.

Studebaker & Packard – 1954

Studebaker was looking for some gains after insurmountable losses struck during the mid 1900′s. They allowed themselves to be acquired by Packard Motor Car Company of Detroit in 1954 and became Studebaker-Packard Corporation. Studebaker’s funds were in even worse shape than they let on to Packard, nearly bankrupt the company in 1956. In order to balance out this downturn, Packard became the American importer for Mercedes-Benz, Auto Union, and DKW automobiles. Studebaker-Packard also began diversifying its production in the late 1950s. The company built not only cars but planes, as well as becoming a parts supplier. Eventually the brand made millions as they spread to different venues.

Daimler-Chrysler – 1998

Let’s skip ahead to modern times, as we discussed other famous automotive mergers (and deaths) in a previous post. In 1998 a “merger of equals” was hatched between Daimler-Benz and Chrysler to become DaimlerChrysler Motors Company LLC. It soon became apparent that Daimler was the dominant partner. Chrysler went into a financial tailspin soon after this merger. Plymouth’s brand was phased out in 2001, and plans for cost cutting by sharing of platforms and components began. The Chrysler Crossfire, a Mercedes-based vehicle, was one of their first results of this idea. In 2004, a new line of full size cars, with the Chrysler 300 as its flagship, used Mercedes-Benz technology and a HEMI V8 engine to spark popularity in the old Chrysler brand. As more financial strains began to close in Daimler sold its share of Chrysler off to Cerebus in 2007.

GM & Chrysler – The Merger That Never Was – 2008

With oil prices reaching beyond $140 a barrel in 2008 the United States witnessed a rapidly drop off of SUV sales. Unfortunately GM and Chrysler decided continued producing huge, gas guzzling vehicles. On Oct. 13 it was announced that GM would close the Janesville, Wisconsin plant, which built full-sized SUVs. During the first 6 months of 2008 GM lost $18.8 billion. By late October its stock had dropped 76% and it was considering a merger with Chrysler. These talks spread like wildfire through the press and automotive industry – would GM control Chrysler, would both car companies survive? By year’s end it seemed no American auto maker was in a position to purchase another – as the United States Government was preparing to bail out “The Big Three” in hopes to save thousands of American jobs.

Tata Motors – On a Quest to Own Them All – 2004, 2007, 2008, etc

In the early 2000′s Tata Motors of India wished the expand their hold of the global automotive market. They started by acquiring Daewoo’s Commercial Vehicle Company of South Korea in 2004. But their bloodlust could not be quenched! 2006, 2007 and 2008 were all successful years for the rapidly growing firm – as a highly publicized deal with Ford gave Tata control of both luxury makes Jaguar and Land Rover (purchased for a measly $2-Billion USD). Who knows what car company Tata will sink their teeth into next!!

Porsche & VW – Two German Makes Become One – 2004-2008

Here’s a fun fact: Under a so-called “Volkswagen Law” no shareholder in VW can exercise more than 20% of the firm’s voting rights. However, the European Union moved against this rule that protected VW from takeovers, and Porsche took a holding of 30.9% over the company. Initially, Porsche announced it did not intend to take over Volkswagen. But surprise, on March 3 2008, Porsche announced that it would increase its VW stake up to 51 per cent, making them the top dog over at Volkswagen. So much for campaign promises.

Chrysler and Fiat – All We Can Say is Good Luck! – 2009

In January 2009, Fiat and Chrysler LLC announced that they were going to form a global alliance. Under the terms of the agreement, Fiat would take a 35% stake in Chrysler and gain access to a North American dealer network in exchange for providing Chrysler with the platform to build smaller, fuel-efficient vehicles. The partnership would provide each company with economies of scale and geographical reach at a time when both are struggling to compete with larger rivals such as Toyota, Volkswagen, Renault and Nissan. On April 30, 2009 the deal became official.

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Tags: auto maker mergers, automotive news, car company news, fiat chrysler merger, gm chrysler merger, takeovers, tata motors