The Fiat Group is aiming to achieve a 5 billion euro operating profit in 2010, Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne affirmed in an interview on Sunday with La Stampa, with next year's target being 3.7 billion euros.

The Fiat Group is aiming to achieved a 5 billion euro operating profit in 2010, Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne affirmed in an interview on Sunday with La Stampa, an Italian newspaper, with next year's target being 3.7 billion euros. This year, he added, a 2.9 billion profit is expected.

The figures represent a dramatic turnaround for the group which was running up huge losses when Marchionne took the helm three and a half years ago. "The target for Fiat is to reach an operating profit of 3.7 bln," Marchionne told La Stampa. "This year it was 2.9 and we want to reach 5 in 2010."

Marchionne also told La Stampa that the Alfa Romeo unit will get the same re-launch treatment that the Fiat has had, a process that has culminated in the arrival this summer of the new 500 which has dramatically enhanced the brand's reputation. "This is a commitment that will take two, three, or maybe even four years with the objective of creating in Italy the equivalent of BMW in Germany. Lancia, on the other hand, is a brand that can behave arrogantly since in Europe it is considered an example of style.

The CEO is also expecting great things from the Lancia division, which is focusing on the luxury end of the market. With two successful facelifts undertaken on the Ypsilon (in the autumn of 2006) and most recently the restyled Musa, Marchionne is now looking forward to an all-new model joining the compact range next year, the Delta HPE which will straddle the C/D segments. "Next year due to the success of the Ypsilon and Musa we will add the new Delta," he told La Stampa.