Fiat lost out last week to Canadian car parts maker Magna International Inc in a bid for Opel, but Marchionne’s comments suggested Fiat might yet be a factor in the deal.
“The interest is still there, it doesn’t depend on us,” he said.
“The deal technically is not closed, we will see,” Marchionne said, adding that Fiat had not yet used $1.42 billion line of credit from banks.
“We do not need it for now,” he said.
Berlin agreed on Saturday to provide 1.5 billion euros in bridge financing to Opel as part of a deal to shield the company from GM’s Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing.