As Chrysler prepared to finalise its alliance with Fiat on Wednesday morning, one person close to its 40-day journey through bankruptcy court succinctly summed up the Detroit carmaker’s situation: “Nothing left to do, except sell cars.”

The trouble is that selling cars will be no mean feat. “The next two years are going to be extremely challenging,” says Michael Robinet, vice-president at CSM Worldwide, a Michigan-based consultancy.