Reuters (Milan) - Italian carmaker Fiat said on Monday Alfredo Altavilla had been appointed to take charge of the group's loss-making operations in the Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region.
Fiat, which controls U.S. carmaker Chrysler, said in a statement Altavilla had replaced Gianni Coda as Fiat's Chief Operating Officer for the EMEA region.
Altavilla, who will step down as chief executive of Fiat Industrial's truck-making unit Iveco, will have the task of executing plans to ramp up production of Fiat's new Alfa and Maserati and Jeep models.
Altavilla is one of Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne's close allies and was a leading player in the 2009 deal with the U.S. government giving Fiat a controlling stake in Chrysler.
Languishing sales have undermined the profitability of Fiat's operations in austerity-hit Europe, while Chrysler is now the biggest cash earner for the group.
On Oct. 30, Fiat sharply cut its performance targets because of the market slump in Europe and said it would focus on bolstering its operations there instead of buying more shares in Chrysler Group.
