More Fiat-Chrysler SUVs for Europe

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) has announced that the Fiat brand will be moving away from mass-market models to focus on producing more SUVs in markets like Europe. The brand will use this approach to exploit the demand for SUVs of all sizes in the European market. As per the plan, the first cars were the Fiat 500X small SUV, accompanied by its Jeep sibling, the Renegade. Our sister publication, Autocar UK, has also revealed that the two brands are working on a pair of larger SUV models based on the same high-end platform.

At the recent Geneva motor show, FCA boss Sergio Marchionne said, Fiat would no longer attempt to be a “mass-market brand” and will not attempt to offer a “full range” of models. He added that Fiat would “focus on what it does best”.

In extracting the best from what remains of the Fiat brand, Marchionne and his team have devised a four-pronged plan. The biggest growth areas in the European market are the SUV and premium segments. The premium sector will be addressed by the reinvention of Alfa Romeo and, to a lesser extent, rising sales and new models from Maserati. Fiat is already very well placed in the market for small cars with its 500 line-up. The 500 hatchback and the bigger 500L MPV are both segment leaders in Europe, and Fiat’s main challenge will be to maintain and progress the success of the 500 family.

Fiat will attack the SUV sector with the new 500X small SUV and an upcoming Nissan Qashqai-sized SUV. The production of these models will be profitable because they will share components with, and be built alongside a pair of Jeep sister cars. Additionally, the sophisticated platform underpinning the new 500X and Jeep Renegade can also be scaled for use on the bigger Fiat and Jeep models.

Farther down the line, Fiat and Jeep may launch more products based on the same platform as the 500L MPV and will be built in Turkey, where labour rates are cheaper.

Even under Marchionne’s rigorous approach, the Fiat brand will get a ‘halo’ model. The car that started life as Alfa Romeo’s version of the new Mazda MX-5 will now be sold as the Fiat 124 Spider, a reference to the classic Pininfarina-designed roadster that was sold between 1966 and 1985.

Closer home, FCA has, in the past, confirmed its plans of launching the Jeep brand in India. It is also likely that an SUV on the lines of the Jeep Renegade for the Indian market.

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