Fiat Chrysler was formed in 2014 following Chrysler's bankruptcy in 2009. The company doesn't break out global sales by brand, but gives a U.S. sales figure of 2.6 million last year, accounting for 12.6 of total U.S. auto sales last year. Here are the specific figures for U.S. sales in 2016.

·Jeep: The only brand that produces SUVs and off-road vehicles, including Grand Cherokee and other models. Sales: 926,376

·Ram: Truck and van brand, spun off from Dodge in 2009. Sales: 545,851 units

·Dodge: A traditional high-horsepower mid-size car manufacturer, with models including Charger, but the two highest-selling models in 2016 were minivans and SUVs. Sales: 506,858 units

Chrysler: A classic American car brand that produces minivans that are most famous today. Sales: 231,972

·Fiat: Italian small car brand trying to win the U.S. market. Sales: 32,742 units

·Maserati: Fiat Chrysler's high-end brand from Italy. Sales: 12,534 units

·Alfa Romeo: Italian sports car company, it returned to the U.S. market after leaving the U.S. market in 1995, but sales dropped significantly. Sales: 516

Fiat Chrysler, the Italian-American automaker, began to take shape after its predecessor Chrysler went bankrupt and received government aid. Marchionne successfully merged the two companies and gained great reputation. But for much of the past two years, Fiat Chrysler has been publicly seeking merger and acquisition partners to help it survive in the global auto market for the long term. Several major car companies, including General Motors, Ford and Volkswagen, have denied purchase intentions.

Marchione has not responded to requests for comment on a potential deal. The twice-canceled factory event in Belvidere, Illinois, would have been his first public appearance in the United States since the Detroit Auto Show in January. (Both cancellations were said to be due to schedule conflicts.) Marchionne is known for his candor on the potential of electric vehicles and the pros and cons of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). Although it has been outspoken on hot-button issues, it has recently become uncharacteristically vague when it comes to the possibility of splitting up and selling off Fiat Chrysler.

“We have a responsibility to clean up the portfolio,” Marchionne said during an earnings call with analysts last month when asked if the company was considering selling off business units.

When asked about the possibility of Maserati and Alfa Romeo, two European brands, being sold, Marchionne said he would "reserve" the possibility before blocking further questions. .

Industry analysts believe that Fiat Chrysler is currently in a relatively weak business position compared with larger competitors such as Volkswagen, Toyota, and General Motors.

Fiat Chrysler, which generates the bulk of its global profits from U.S. sales of Jeep SUVs and Ram pickup trucks, has lagged far behind rivals in developing advanced technology for autonomous and electric vehicles.

The entire market is currently shifting away from traditional sedans, which has greatly affected the sales of passenger cars such as Chrysler and Dodge in the United States and Fiat models in Europe.

To make up for the losses, Fiat Chrysler is rapidly adjusting its U.S. production equipment from producing cars to manufacturing Jeeps and pickup trucks, including the Belvidere plant. By the end of 2017, all six of the company's U.S. plants will be producing SUVs and trucks.

Plants in Mexico and Canada continue to produce the company's passenger cars sold there.

It would be almost unprecedented for a major automaker to abandon an entire business category, such as small cars, and it would also be a challenge for dealers who have to sell models from showrooms. Adjust to less.

Fiat Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne was uncharacteristically vague when discussing the possibility of selling Fiat Chrysler by brand recently. Image copyright: Fabrizio Costantini/The New York Times

Brett Saslow, a Fiat Chrysler dealer in St. James, Long Island, New York, said: "It's really difficult. Car sales are down, but They're not gone yet. It's still a big brand, so it's better to put at least a few vehicles out there." The increased focus on trucks and SUVs only fuels speculation that Fiat Chrysler is on track. Strengthen its most attractive assets for sale.

Over the past few years, Fiat Chrysler Chairman John Elkann has publicly discussed possible partnerships or mergers with other automakers. Elkann heads the Agnelli family, which controls Fiat Chrysler through a holding company.

Early last year, Fiat Chrysler completed the spin-off of its luxury car brand Ferrari, and Ferrari's stock price has soared since then.

Giuseppe Berta, a professor of economic history at Milan's Bocconi University and a long-time consultant to Fiat's historical archives, said Elkann may be replaced by Malchi next year. Onne pushed for a bigger deal before retiring.

"What we are seeing now is the strong desire of the owners to sell Fiat Chrysler. I think there is only one way to sell it, and that is to spin off the company's business." Berta said.

Berta said the uneven performance of the company's various business units made it difficult to sell it as a whole, and the initial merger of Fiat and Chrysler failed to stand the test of time.

"From the beginning, the ability to invest in the business was relatively limited, the company had no plans for driverless or electric vehicles, and Marchionne said two years ago that the automotive unit overall consumes too much Capital. "

Industry analysts are also questioning whether the company has the financial resources to compete in the emerging era of self-driving cars.

Fiat Chrysler recently said it would cooperate with German automaker BMW to develop such technology, but this is hardly a guarantee that it can keep up with auto companies such as General Motors or Silicon Valley companies such as Tesla and Google. competitors.

Center for Automotive Research (CAR) analyst Kristin Dziczek said that Fiat Chrysler’s huge debt has constrained its ability to invest in new technologies and new models. ability. "That doesn't bode well for investing in future products," she said.

The possibility of selling Jeep to Chinese buyers is in doubt. In both China and the United States, any transaction is likely to be subject to government scrutiny. Fiat Chrysler will also struggle once it loses profits and market share from its most prized SUV division.

On a recent earnings call, Marchionne warned that the company cannot simply sell its best divisions to the highest bidder.

"We have to think about what to do with the rest," he said. Otherwise, Fiat Chrysler will "end up with a suboptimal business that can't run," he added.

LaSorda believes that Great Wall Motor’s recent expression of intention will arouse the enthusiasm of other automakers. "There's no big company that doesn't want a Jeep, the question is what does it cost to get it," he said.

For Fiat Chrysler, the prospect of a spinoff or sale comes at its most difficult time.

In the U.S. market, Fiat Chrysler faces difficulties due to reduced consumer demand and the accumulation of older Jeep models. Its sales were down 7 through the first seven months of this year, and Jeep sales were down more than 12 . Fiat Chrysler said Jeep is still growing around the world, thanks to rising sales in China and other regions, although its global sales have not exploded as a brand.

Fiat Chrysler also faces a federal lawsuit accusing its chief labor negotiator of compensation packages for company and union executives, as well as a lawsuit filed by federal regulators alleging Fiat Chrysler's diesel cars cheated on emissions tests.

However, controversy and crisis have accompanied Chrysler for decades, dating back to the 1970s when the federal government provided loan guarantees to maintain the company's operations.

Chrysler has been sold three times since then: first to German car company Daimler-Benz in 1998 and later to private equity firm Cerberus Capital Management) company, the third time was Fiat.

In 2007, Lasorda, then Chrysler's vice chairman, traveled the world looking for partners to save the company. Although it eventually merged with Fiat, one of the companies that expressed interest in buying it at the time was Great Wall Motors. "They have always been interested in breaking into the U.S. market," he said.