Fiat's chief executive is visiting Berlin on Monday to try to convince Germany's political leaders to sign up to his vision for a new European car giant by letting him take over General Motors' Opel unit.
Sergio Marchionne has a one-month deadline in his sights, a newspaper report said, less than a week after he sealed a deal with Chrysler to form a partnership.
His plan would involve spinning off Fiat's core car business into a new company including Chrysler and GM Europe and listing it on a stock exchange.
Fiat plans to take control of General Motors Europe without taking on new debt, German Economy Minister Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg said on Monday, following talks with Marchionne.
Guttenberg said Fiat Chief Executive Sergio Marchionne had presented plans to become Europe's biggest automaker.
The plan foresaw final assembly plants in Germany staying operational, but envisioned the closing of some GM Europe plants.
"It's an interesting approach, without question," Guttenberg told reporters, but said the plan needed a closer look. He said Fiat eyes a bridge-financing agreement of between 5 to 7 billion euros for the deal
