Former Fiat Chrysler chief executive Sergio Marchionne has died, the carmaker's controlling family shareholder said on Wednesday.

Marchionne fell gravely ill after suffering complications following recent surgery in a Zurich hospital. He was replaced as chief executive last weekend after Fiat Chrysler (FCA) said his condition had worsened.

"Unfortunately, what we feared has come to pass. Sergio Marchionne, man and friend, is gone," FCA Chairman John Elkann, of the controlling Agnelli family, said in a statement.