The Fiat Board of Directors, which met yesterday, accepted with regret the resignation tendered by Mr. Hermann-Josef Lamberti due to his increasing commitments and thanked him on behalf of the entire Fiat Group for his precious cooperation throughout these years.

The Board then co-opted René Carron, Chairman of Crédit Agricole. Considering the size of the Crédit Agricole Group, the Board determined that the relations existing between the French banking group and the Fiat Group are not material and therefore that René Carron meets the requirements for independence.

The Board of Directors also appointed Gian Maria Gros-Pietro as component of the Internal Control Committee in replacement of Mr. Lamberti and resolved to split the Nominating and Compensation Committee into two separate committees in order to better conform to corporate governance best practices, as well as the other recommendations set forth on the issue in the Corporate Governance Code.

René Carron: Chairman of Crédit Agricole S.A.

René Carron was born in 1942, in Savoy, France. A farmer by profession, he was President of the Savoy Chamber of Agriculture from 1983 to 1992. In 1981 René Carron joined the Crédit Agricole Group as Chairman of the Yenne Local Bank. In April 1992, he was appointed Chairman of the Crédit Agricole Regional Bank de la Savoie which became - after its merger in 1994 with the Regional Bank de Haute Savoie – the Regional Bank des Savoie of which René Carron remains Chairman.

As of 1995 he took on greater responsibilities within national bodies. In 1995 he joined the Board of Fédération Nationale du Crédit Agricole and was its Chairman from July 2000 until April 2003. In 1999, he was appointed to Crédit Agricole S.A.’s Board, of which he became Chairman in December 2002.

Former Mayor of Yenne, René Carron has been Yenne District Councillor. Aditionnally, he was member of the Savoy District Council Standing Committee and Vice-President of the Savoy District Council from 1995 to 1998. Mr Carron also presided over the “Savoie 92” Association in charge of promoting the Savoy region during the lead-up to the Olympic Games in Albertville. From 2000 to 2003, René Carron was member of the Economic and Social Council. Amongst other responsibilities, Mr Carron also sits on Suez’s Board of Directors and on Lagardère SCA’s Supervisory Board. He chairs the FARM foundation (Fondation pour l’Agriculture et la Ruralité dans le Monde). Additionally, the readers of the French daily La Tribune elected René Carron the “Best Strategist for 2003”.