Fiat Chrysler CEO Reportedly Expects Company Can Double Profit Within Five Year

(RTTNews) - Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV (FCAU) Chief Executive Officer Sergio Marchionne reportedly said the company can double profit within five years by exploiting the potential of the Jeep brand.

With the offroad nameplate in position to grab as much as 20 percent of the global SUV market and coffers padded by lower U.S. taxes, it will be his successor who carries out the strategy. Marchionne was steadfast in his commitment to retire from Fiat in early 2019 after 15 years, succeeded by one of his lieutenants, report quoted Marchionne as saying.

"There's nothing which can tell me that Jeep could not own one in five SUVs," equivalent to about 5 million deliveries a year, Marchionne reportedly said. "If that's true, the upside for FCA -- we are just beginning to skim the surface."

If Jeep can reach these targets, it would mean "the profitability of this house is going to be multiples on what it makes now" and doubling profit by 2022 is "possible," he reportedly said. President Donald Trump's tax cuts could further boost profit by about $1 billion a year, he added. The carmaker targets at least 7 billion eurosi n adjusted earnings before interest and taxes in 2017.