UPDATE 1-Fiat CEO sidesteps UBS job talk

(Adds CEO comments on business, Daimler)

MILAN, Feb 15 (Reuters) - Fiat (FIA.MI) Chief Executive Sergio Marchionne sidestepped a question about a report that he may leave the Italian industrial group to head Swiss bank UBS AG (UBSN.VX) in remarks on Friday.

Speculation about a possible role for Marchionne at the bank was revived earlier by an unsourced report published in Italian business daily MF. The report said he had been approached by some of the bank's main shareholders to lead the bank.

"We sell cars," he told reporters at an event celebrating the 200th anniversary of the stock exchange in Milan, Borsa Italiana.

Marchionne, a member of the board at UBS, has successfully restructured Fiat after the group nearly went bankrupt early this decade.

He later told Reuters that Fiat was still in talks with Daimler (DAIGn.DE) about a possible partnership in components.

"On components, yes," he replied to a question about talks with the German automaker. MF newspaper said in its Friday issue Daimler had cited Fiat as a possible partner for components.

Like other automakers seeking alliances to share parts and cut costs, Fiat has been holding talks with Daimler since last year.

Marchionne also said business was going well for Fiat.

"It's going well even if it could be better," he said.

In reporting results earlier this week, some of Europe's biggest automakers forecast a stagnant market in Europe this year.

Last month, Fiat said it expected to make gains in western Europe, and its business was in line with the guidance it had given for the year, including a higher trading profit of up to 3.6 billion euros.

Fiat's shares fell late last year when a rumour circulated in the market that he could take up chairmanship of the UBS supervisory board.

UBS shares fell on Friday on investor fears of more massive losses after an analyst report said UBS could need up to $18 billion in additional write-downs in 2008. Its shares were down 4 percent at 1232 GMT. Fiat shares were up 1 percent.

The world's largest manager of money for the wealthy, UBS has already written down $18 billion in losses in 2007 due to its exposure to U.S. subprime mortgages and linked assets. (Reporting by Valentina Za; Writing by Gilles Castonguay; Editing by Paul Bolding and Quentin Bryar)