Fiat’s recovery hinges on being able to double sales in 2019
Fiat Chrysler Automobiles will pay special attention to rejuvenating the somewhat sidelined Alfa Romeo brand
Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) SA must more than double sales in coming months to recover from its long-running slump, CEO Graham Eagle said on Wednesday. The company, whose brands include Fiat, Alfa Romeo and Jeep, has seen sales plummet in recent years — the result, said Eagle, of overpricing, poor product planning, diminishing brand value and a complicated management structure. The last of these, exemplified by the creation of two separate local marketing companies, was fixed midyear by their consolidation into the single FCA SA. An all-new management team, headed by former Honda SA marketing head Eagle, was appointed in July. One of their first decisions was to disband the old FCA marketing team and bring in new leadership. Apart from the three headline brands, FCA SA also markets Abarth cars and Fiat Professional commercial vehicles. In future, local dealers will sell all five, instead of picking and choosing, as some have done. The historic link between Chrysler and German mo...
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