The Italian family is branching out as automotives face challenges from net zero shift
Gianni Agnelli, the billionaire Italian industrialist, took driving seriously. So seriously that he insisted on driving his own chauffeur around – often at break-neck speeds.
“When people travelled by horse-drawn vehicles, they said there are those who prefer to sit on the box and those who prefer to sit inside the carriage. I prefer sitting on the box,” the Fiat chief once said.
Agnelli’s adrenaline-fuelled passion for cars spawned an automotive empire that controls brands including Ferrari, Alfa Romeo and Chrysler. Meanwhile, his suave dress sense and glamorous lifestyle helped to cement his family’s status at the top of Italian high society.
Now, though, the Agnelli dynasty is looking to forge a new path under the leadership of John Elkann, the unsentimental scion who styles himself more as Europe’s Warren Buffett than a boy racer.