In the first 6 months of 2023, Fiat Sold a total of 280 cars. There are currently 357 Fiat dealerships in the US.
https://www.goodcarbadcar.net/fiat-us-sales-figures https://www.scrapehero.com/location-reports/Fiat-USA/
In the first 6 months of 2023, Fiat Sold a total of 280 cars. There are currently 357 Fiat dealerships in the US.
https://www.goodcarbadcar.net/fiat-us-sales-figures https://www.scrapehero.com/location-reports/Fiat-USA/
Not surprising when they only sell one model of car.
Not only one model, they only sell small model. Even though 500X is a crossover, it isn’t a large enough for most American buyers.
I know most people in this sub, r/cars hating large truck so much, but that’s what America car market. Small crossover doesn’t really sell well in America, and most American buyers just wants large vehicles.
They took the “one GM” model and took it to the absolute extreme.
“hey let’s offer a tiny car as the only available model in a market with relatively cheap gas and an obsession for massive cars!”
It is not much larger to American eyes, but after just getting back from Italy, I cannot understand why they brought the 500 instead of the Panda, which is their most popular car there as well. It is big enough to not seem like a gag and the Panda 4x4 is much cooler IMO.
Bigger margins on the 500, and under the skin the US/Canada market 500 is rather different from the RoW 500. The lower margins probably make adapting it to the US regulatory environment uneconomical. VW never bothered federalising the larger and higher priced Polo for that reason.
Different vehicle classes have different tariffs. It’s why the Subaru Brat was sold with jumper seats in the back, so the import tariffs were the same as a passenger car instead of a small pickup. The US also has a requirement for any car sold to be crash tested here and to meet certain standards. In other countries the car companies are allowed to sell more freely.
On the other hand, I thought the Panda was supposed to be sold here
The fiat 500 is actually surprisingly popular on college campuses. I assume that’s a big chunk of their demo.
My friends had a term called the “fiat fakeout” which is when you see an empty parking spot in the garage but it’s actually occupied by a 500
The other issue is it’s basically a reskinned Jeep Renegade. And it’s much easier to find a Jeep dealer, buy Jeep parts, and get support compared to a Fiat. There isn’t really a point in buying a Fiat. What made them unique was the 500. Not a volume seller but that drew people to the brand. I would’ve brought one if they still made them. There’s so many better options in the CUV segment.
And it’s ancient at this point.