Audi and Fiat Feud Over Nomenclature

One has to agree that the news of two giants from the world of automobiles engaged in a squabble makes for interesting news. This one, rumoured to be honest, involves a German and an Italian and two alphanumeric combinations. Audi has been missing 'Q2' and 'Q4' from its range of Q trademarks and has been trying to acquire the two to complete the Q1 - Q9 sequence. The only problem in this endeavour is the fact that the two combos are owned by Fiat - who is in no mood to let go of them.

Fiat employs the two badges to identify if its cars feature two-wheel or all-wheel drive layout. Case in point, the Maserati Quattroporte S and Ghibli S Q4 sedans or the now discontinued Alfa Romeo 159 sedan. CAR magazine says though Fiat's CEO Sergio Marchionne may not be against selling the rights, but he most certainly won't sell it to the Volkswagen group. This, in turn, would mean Audi has no option but to make peace with the rejection of its advances.

This leads us to wonder why Marchionne feels so bitter. Turns out, the German group's CEO - Ferdinand Piech - might have something to do with it. Piech has been very vocal about his wish to buy Alfa Romeo and once said its sales could have been quadrupled had Volkswagen owned it. Volkswagen followed this up with its aggressive pricing in Europe when the continent was struggling with the worst of car sales slump in 2012. The final blow came in the form of a press officer's comment about Marchionne being unqualified to be the president of the European Automotive Manufacturers Association (ACEA) and threatened to quit the organization if he did.

Considering all that, it wouldn't be far-fetched to say that Audi's chances of getting the two marques from Fiat look bleak, at least as long Marchionne heads Fiat-Chrysler. He announced in October, 2014 that he will quit the job by the end of 2018, so probably the German carmaker will have a better shot then, provided they don't provoke the ire of his successor too.