Fiat has aid for Chrysler

WASHINGTON - The chief executive of Fiat Group SpA told the Obama administration yesterday that the Italian automaker could revive Chrysler LLC and help it repay billions in government loans.

Sergio Marchionne said the administration's auto task force was receptive to a proposed partnership that would give Fiat a 35 percent stake in the struggling US automaker in exchange for new technology but no cash.

"We can add value," Marchionne told reporters after the 2 1/2-hour meeting with the auto panel at the Treasury Department. "That's the real issue and it's a necessary ingredient of the revival of Chrysler."

Fiat made its presentation in advance of the panel's meeting with bondholders of General Motors Corp. later yesterday. GM is holding negotiations with its bondholders to cut two-thirds of its $27 billion in unsecured debt under the terms of a loan agreement with the government.