It certainly is interesting to hear Sergio Marchionne again speaking about the primacy of industrial scale economies, of big automotive alliances and of his preference for Fiat-Chrysler to add a third partner.

PSA is being talked about as a possible suitor yet again. But the big difficulty there is that the gains would require capacity rationalisation in Europe that looks politically troublesome, especially when economies are in a weak phase. Both Fiat and PSA are relatively reliant on the weak European market, share plenty of model/segments overlap. Could be tricky to get the consolidation benefits that look good on paper. 

Perhaps adding a strategic partner with a strong position in another world region would make sense? Suzuki on the rebound from VW?

Come to think of it, wasn't the diesel engine deal in which Fiat supplied Suzuki's Indian operation one of the things that put strain on VW-Suzuki's ill-fated alliance?

US: Marchionne eyes 'third partner'