AMSTERDAM -- The chairman of Fiat Chrysler John Elkann said on Friday he was ready for bold and creative decisions to help build a solid and attractive future for the carmaker.
Speaking at the company's annual shareholder meeting, Elkann said the group was ready to play a part in the "new and exciting" era for the auto industry.
Recent media reports have said France's Renault could be eyeing a bid for FCA while in March the president of Peugeot family holding company FFP said he would support a new deal and suggested Fiat Chrysler was among the options.
Also during the meeting, CEO Mike Manley said FCA will get a boost from the all-new Jeep Gladiator and a new Ram truck in North America during the second half of the year. North America generated more than 90 percent of profit for Fiat Chrysler last year.
FCA is seeking to address a lopsided business that generated almost no profit in Europe last year, where Fiat is struggling with high labor costs at production sites in Italy and spending on electrification. Efforts to boost the European division will start to pay off this year with the full effect coming through from 2020, Manley said.
The company expects to generate industrial free cash flow of more than of 1.5 billion euros ($1.7 billion) this year.
After the death of former CEO Sergio Marchionne last summer, speculation about the future of Fiat Chrysler has intensified.
Marchionne, who created FCA by merging a troubled Fiat with Chrysler, had advocated industry mergers to share the cost of building electric and self-driving cars.
Carmakers around the world are looking to tie-ups to cope with rising competition, the rise of electrification and the threat of a trade war between the United States and China.
FCA shares rose 3.5 percent in premarket trading in New York. They closed at $15.66 on Thursday, down from their year-to-date high of $17.35 set on Feb. 6.
Bloomberg, Reuters and Automotive News contributed to this report.
