Sergio Marchionne gave a clear indication of what the future holds for the Fiat brand, saying that the historic Italian brand will never be again the mass-market player it once was.
“In terms of the scope of a mass producer of vehicles, Fiat no longer offers, and it never intends to have, a full range of product of the kind mass brands have. Fiat will lose its appeal as a general brand and it will focus on what it does best“ Marchionne confessed, according to an AutoNews report.
He added that it doesn’t make any financial sense to invest in Fiat’s return back into mass-market arena so the brand will not target on a big market-share in Europe.
Fiat’s new strategy involves focusing on profit, playing the brand’s strengths which means sticking in manufacturing stylish and practical small to compact cars. Marchionne left Fiat with a surprisingly small lineup the last few years and now the plan is expand the 500 and Panda models, introducing new variants.
Rumors suggest that the unconfirmed Bravo successor will be positioned as a member of the new Panda family, and is expected to reach production sometime in 2016.
“What you are going to see over the next five to 10 years is a re-shifting and a reconfiguration of our market share position as a result of two things, one, the globalization of Jeep, which is progressing on track; and secondly the introduction of Alfa Romeo as a global range premium/sports car maker” Marchionne explained at a press conference in Geneva.
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