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Italy's Fiat is in contact with Germany's Mercedes-Benz about a possible alliance as it has with other carmakers, says CEO Sergio Marchionne.
"We're having discussions with car companies," he said in Rome.
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 the cars' contribution to global warming. BMW and PSA/Peugeot-Citroen have been mentioned as possible allies to develop small car platforms or new engines for them, and Germany's Auto Motor und Sport magazine said this week Mercedes was having talks with Fiat. Marchionne said the board might discuss alliances on October 24.
Daimler would not comment about the talks but a spokesman said this week it was ready in principle to work with rivals on projects of mutual interest.
