Fiat is at the 80th Geneva Motor Show this week with its distinctive children's world-themed display headlined by FPT's new TwinAir engine which is being showcased in the 500 supermini.

Talk of a spin-off of Fiat Group automobile manufacturing arm has reared its head once more with the Italian media reporting that the timing of an action could be timetabled when CEO Sergio Marchionne presents his latest forward plan for the group on April 21. At that meeting he will as detail "the level of interface between Chrysler and Fiat." Vice-President John Elkann meanwhile added more fuel to the fire with comments made to business leaders at the weekend and the stock market regulator then asked Fiat to respond to the issue.

The idea of spinning off Fiat Group's mass-produced automobile arm, most likely including the Fiat, Fiat Professional, Abarth, Lancia and Alfa Romeo brands, into a standalone entity that would raise shareholder value and free up the remaining components of the group, is not new, having been mooted for years as the automotive division has held down the group's share price. Stripping out the car manufacturing activities would leave a rump of including the agricultural-and-construction equipment unit CNH Global, trucks-to-buses division Iveco, components arm Magneti Marelli as well as specialist divisions including production line equipment manufacturer Comau, while the niche luxury/performance Ferrari and Maserati brands could also remain with the group.

Into this spun-off mix could come Fiat's 20 percent shareholding in Chrysler Group. According to a report in Saturday's edition of the Italian financial newspaper Milano Finanza, the merger with Chrysler would reduce Fiat's stake in the automotive division to around 50 percent.

Meanwhile Vice-President John Elkann made comments during a meeting at the weekend, reports La Repubblica and Reuters, that added to the rumour mill. "I would like to talk about my dream of a more and more strong Fiat, a bigger Fiat, with head and heart in Turin. He added that Fiat should "work on the integration with Chrysler and reinforce its presence in emerging markets and keep a leading position in innovation." Spinning off the automotive division has always foundered on resistance from Fiat's biggest shareholders, the Agnelli family, Elkann's comments are being read by the Italian media as a change of positioning.

Fiat was asked by Italian stock market regulator Consob to responded to the media story over the weekend and said that talk of any spin off was "purely conjecture". It said that on April 21 it will also announce the "positioning of each of its businesses". At 11:00 AM this morning the Fiat Group share price on the Milan bourse was up 1.07 percent and stood at 9.02 euros.