PA RIS
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THE 1968 Salon de l'ilinoonobile in Paris, running true to form, has all the glitter and glamour of the major international show that it is. The main French manufacturers all display new models and a major theme is the trend to simplification of detail design in most cases, with power increases continuing as an important element.
From the size and lavishness of the displays of the French manufacturers in particular, one would gain little inkling of the undercurrent of rumour and speculation which, if translated into fact, would fundamentally alter the structure of the French heavy commercial vehicle industry. Con
versations at the Paris Show on the preview days largely excluded vehicles. The main topic was Fiat and Citroen.
Everything discussed, and written, about the Fiat-Citroen business was complete speculation. And there was no way of finding the facts at the Show because virtually all executives of the companies which could have shed some light on the subject had gone to ground. A Citroen Press conference was quietly put forward by one day, with the result that many journalists missed it. And the only Citroen executive present was the Press officer who said that the management had not come, because they "had nothing to say". Later in the week at a Fiat Press reception there did not appear to be one Fiat man in sight.
What we do know is that it is not a question of Fiat making a direct bid to Citroen but Sig. Agnelli of Fiat offering to buy a part of the 53 per cent holding in Citroen owned by the Michelin family. This is being done through Swiss connections of the two families and it is fairly certain that the reason the Michelins are interested in disposing of part of their holding in Citroen is due to unhappiness at the French Government's efforts to get Citroen to merge with Renault, the nationalized company, which
incorporates the SAVIEM concern. It is reported that approval of the French Government will have to be obtained for the share deal but if it is allowed I do not see how it will be possible for Berliet to be returned to independence. Berliet was taken over by Citroen about a year ago—the Berliet family received a 20 per cent stake in Citroen—and the only possibility could be that this part of the organization will be made to link with Renault /SAVIEM. It is said that the French Government is concerned that the manufacture of military vehicles will not be completely in French hands if Fiat gets the stake in Citroen and this will certainly be the case in regard-to heavy commercial vehicles.
Fiat owns UNIC and since this year's agreement between SAVIEM and MAN of Germany, SAVIEM no longer produces its own design of heavies. If Fiat therefore gains influence over Berliet it will be involved with the major part of French heavy commercial vehicle production. In the 12 months up to June 30 this year Berliet manufactured 12,000 of the 20,000-odd goods vehicles with a gross weight of over 12 tons built in France. UNIC made just over 4,000 and SAVIEM 3,900, leaving only 400 for other manufacturers such as The three main French chassis producers have each made alterations to their ranges for the Paris Show. There are still separate stands for Fiat and UNIC but models from both companies appear with chassis from OM (now fully integrated in Fiat) in the displays on each one. A number of minor changes have been made to various UNIC models, including alterations to fuelinjection and air-intake systems on diesel engines to reduce smoke and improve consumption. Transmissions have also been improved and new chassis include fourand six-wheel mixer chassis and a I2.5-ton-gross