Fiat News: Fiat Dealers Anxious For More Products

[William Maley]

By William Maley

Staff Writer - CheersandGears.com

May 13, 2013

Despite rising sales of Fiat 500 in the past few months, some Fiat dealers are finding it difficult to break even.

"I'm struggling to break even. With the one car in a small (volume) segment, it's a tough go right now," said Gary Brown, owner of a Fiat dealer on Long Island and chairman of the Chrysler Dealer Council.

Dealers are very antsy get to new products such as the new 500L later this year as it should help bring more people into Fiat dealers.

"The four-door (500L) is really going to be a shot in the arm. It will put a franchise on more people's radar as they are shopping for a small car," Brown said.

But the one product lineup Fiat dealers are still wondering about is Alfa Romeo. The 4C sports car is due in the U.S. later this year or early next year. After that, who really knows. Several Fiat dealers told Reuters that Fiat has postponed a meeting discussing new products twice and that a new date hasn't been set.

When asked about the meetings, a Fiat spokesman declined to comment.

Source: Reuters

William Maley is a staff writer for Cheers & Gears. He can be reached at [email protected] or you can follow him on twitter at @realmudmonster.

View full article

[David]

No one should really be surprised by this as they failed in the US before and their cars are not that great. They have a limited market appeal and Fiat does not really seem dedicated to a global business. Ton's of Fiats sit on the dealership lots and few move.

Fiat dealer which is part of a Dodge, Chrylser and jeep franchise in the greater Seattle area allows the folks to cross sale you anything. You rarely find sales people in the show room for the Fiats as they just have limited appeal in a suburban area.