Fiat may start Italy car plant investments in coming weeks

Mirafiori and Melfi plants will be among the first to be re-tooled for new models in the Italian carmaker's plan to fix its struggling European business, and work may begin within weeks, a union source said. A sharp downturn in Europe has forced Chief Executive Sergio Marchionne to focus on bolstering the company's European activities instead of buying more shares in U.S. automaker Chrysler Group LLC, which it also controls. Shares in Fiat closed 4.3 percent lower on Wednesday as investors doubted that a plan by the carmaker to fix its money-losing European operations by increasing investment in premium brands Alfa Romeo, Maserati and Jeep would work. Fiat's revised 2013-2014 plan, presented to unions on Tuesday, cuts sales targets and pledged increased spending to shift the focus onto the carmaker's higher-margin brands. It calls for three new car models to be built in Italy next year, and six new models in Italy in 2014. Europe's debt crisis, government spending cuts and high unemployment have hit consumer budgets and sent demand for cars plunging, with new car registrations in the region showing their sharpest contraction in 12 months in September and...