2009 to be toughest year of my life - Fiat CEO

MILAN, Dec 13 (Reuters) - The top executive of auto maker Fiat SpA said 2009 would be the toughest year of his life and urged European government assistance for the auto sector.

Fiat (FIA.MI), Europe's fifth-biggest car maker by market value, needs to be "an agent of change" in a sector that will consolidate in the next 24 months, Chief Executive Sergio Marchionne said in a year-end address to executives published in la Repubblica newspaper on Saturday.

"2009 will be a difficult year, the most difficult that I have ever seen in my life. We have to go forward expecting that the market should touch bottom," Marchionne said.

Although he did not refer directly to possible U.S. aid for its struggling automakers, Marchionne said public assistance for some companies would bring "enormous disparities in international competition".

"The existence of equal rules for everyone is an essential requisite in any competitive context. I believe that Europe should react and move quickly, making clear the most urgent issue: the survival of a sector with more than 12 million workers," he said.

Marchionne added that another element was the caution of the financial sector in investing in an industry that had a less than shining history of value creation.

The sector had to seek alliances or other tie-ups to continue to have access to capital, to invest and face up to competition on equal terms, he said.

"That is exactly the direction Fiat is following. My goal is that of safeguarding our brands, our business and our management method."

(Reporting by Ian Simpson)