Fiat in touch with Mercedes, others on alliances

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"We have discussions open with auto companies," he told reporters while attending a ceremony at a university.

Marchionne said the board might discuss alliances at its next meeting on Oct. 24, adding that he expected at least one alliance by the end of the year.

He also said Fiat's third-quarter results were in line with expectations, and left open the possibility of raising the 2.7 billion euro ($3.8 billion) group trading profit target for the year.

"The commitment is to review them, or raise them or leave them as they are. We are not lowering anything," he said of the company's targets.

Marchionne also said Fiat had received more than 80,000 orders for its new Cinquecento model. Fiat has a 2007 target of between 50,000 and 60,000 units sold and aims to sell 120,000 units of the new model in 2008.

SWIRLING SPECULATION

Speculation has swirled for weeks that Daimler could seek a partner to work on the next generation of Mercedes-Benz A-Class and B-Class compact cars, whose importance is being highlighted by the debate on cars' contribution to global warming.

BMW and PSA Peugeot Citroen have also been mentioned as possible allies for Daimler to develop small car platforms or new engines.

Earlier this week, Germany's Auto Motor und Sport magazine added Fiat to the list of possible contenders for an alliance.

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