The Fiat 500
According to Peter Fong, Chrysler brand CEO and head of sales for all Chrysler Group brands, the Fiat 500 will be sold in the U.S. with Chrysler handling distribution. However there is going to be a limited volume available to start with.
About 80 percent of Chrysler dealers now offer all three of the group’s brands: Chrysler, Dodge and Jeep. Fong said that when the Fiat 500 is released to U.S. dealerships, it’s likely it will have it’s own corner in showrooms. However, since they are limiting the volume, they will need to limit the amount of dealerships that will be able to have these on their lots. Fong said there is no decision made on how many dealers will sell the 500. The plan is for the 500 to be built at Chrysler’s plant in Toluca, Mexico, beginning in late 2010 or early 2011, says a supplier source.
Fiat chose Mexico due to its free-trade agreement with Brazil. The Italian automaker, which is the market leader in Brazil, plans to export about a 1/3 of the 100,000 Fiat 500′s planned for production in Toluca to Latin American countries. Eventually, Fiat is expected to offer it’s entire range of 500 body variants in North America such as it’s hatchback, convertible, wagon and a sporty version sold under the Abarth brand name.
September 28, 2009
Car News