Fiat's top executives met GM chiefs in New York yesterday. The Put Option which forces GM to buy the remaining 80 per cent of Fiat Auto was likely to top the agenda.

No news emerged on the outcome of the meeting nor on what role GM could play in Fiat's last-ditch turnaround bid.

Fiat Chairman Paolo Fresco and Chief Executive Alessandro Barberis met with top GM executives for a little over five hours but declined to comment before or after the long anticipated gathering at GM's New York headquarters.