Fiat is open to a merger if it will help the car sector recover from the financial crisis, the Italian auto giant's vice-chairman John Elkann said in an interview published Tuesday.

"(Fiat CEO Sergio) Marchionne has said it and I'll repeat it: Fiat wants to have a role, and so, if the conditions are right, a tie-up may be possible," Elkann told Italy's leading daily Corriere della Sera.

"There are no concrete plans," he said however, noting that such a move would depend partly on the outlook for the big three US carmakers, which is currently unclear.

Fiat is "also suffering right now," Elkann said, while adding that the company "could face even worse situations on its own.”