Fiat brand CEO Lorenzo Sistino has side-stepped the question of whether Fiat might opt to sell its well-received, retro-look 500 in the US to re-introduce the brand there.
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Fiats were sold in the US until the late 1980s while Alfa Romeo was withdrawn in the early 1990s. By the end, each brand was down to a single model line.
Speaking at the IESE Business School’s Automotive Sector conference in Barcelona, Sistono did not rule out such a move but he pointed out that Alfa Romeo’s re-entry to the US is next for Fiat Group and that distribution for a small Fiat car in the US would be problematic as things stand.
“The first brand that Fiat Auto will be selling in the US [on re-entry] will be Alfa Romeo. The discussion about Cinquecento follows a media report and the idea that the Mercedes Smart is the first such example and that Fiat could follow. I cannot give you an answer now.
“Certainly the Cinquecento is an absolutely outstanding car for us and maybe it can have opportunities outside Europe.
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By GlobalData“But in the US, the dealer network [lack of] would be an issue for sure – it would present a bottleneck. Probably we would have to think about some new distribution solution.”
Fiat’s revived, retro-look 500 has just been named car of the year (COTY) in Europe by a jury of 58 journalists from 22 European countries.
