Italian-American car manufacturer Fiat Chrysler (FCA) on Friday posted second quarter losses of 1.04 billion euros ($1.23 billion) thanks to the collapse of the global economy caused by the COVID-19 epidemic. The result is nevertheless better than expected, after analysts predicted losses of two billion euros, according to Factset Estimates. "Our second quarter showed that decisive actions and extraordinary contributions from our workforce enabled FCA to contain the impact of the COVID-19 crisis," said CEO Mike Manley. "Our plants are up and running, dealers are selling in showrooms and online, and we have the flexibility and financial strength to push ahead with our plans," he said. FCA is due to merge with France's PSA and the company said on Friday that "the COVID-19 crisis has further underlined the compelling logic" of the merger. "Work by both teams towards the completion of the merger has continued apace and we expect to meet the objective of combining as a single company by the end of the first quarter 2021," FCA said. cco-cjo/rl