Fiat targets higher European market share with new models

Administrator Thu Mar 31, 2011 8:46 pm

TURIN - Fiat S.p.A. is targeting a higher market share for car sales in Europe in 2011 with the launch of new products in the second half of this year, CEO Sergio Marchionne said on Wednesday.

Fiat, which owns 25 percent of Chrysler Group, sells most of its cars in Europe, where auto sales are expected to continue to fall against improved car markets elsewhere.

Marchionne said Fiat expected a general market improvement for new-car sales this year except in Europe, which will be negatively impacted by declines forecast for Italy and France.

"Nevertheless, we expect that our market share will increase as a result of new model releases in the second half of this year," Marchionne told Fiat Group's annual shareholder meeting. Marchionne also confirmed the targets laid out in Fiat's 2011-2014 strategic plan.

In the first two months of this year, the automaker's European unit sales including the Fiat, Lancia and Alfa Romeo brands fell 18.4 percent to 156,937, according to industry association ACEA. Fiat Group's market share dropped to 7.5 percent from 9.2 percent compared with the first two months of 2010.

The automaker has been hit lack of new product in key segments as well as a comparison with artificially inflated sales results in its home market. Although Italy's scrapping scheme concluded at the end of 2009, sales were allowed to be counted through the first quarter of 2010.

Marchionne said last year he would delay product launches until the market picked up.

In late 2011, the Italian group will launch a new version of the Panda, Europe's top-selling minicar. Also, Lancia will start the sale of the new Thema and Voyager models later this year.

Fiat is Italy's biggest industrial group. The company demerged its trucks and tractors business from the carmaking activities at the start of 2011.

Fiat Industrial S.p.A., which includes truck brand Iveco and agri equipment maker CNH Global Nv, is now listed separately from Fiat S.p.A. Marchionne is planning an initial public offering of Chrysler and aims to get majority ownership of the U.S. group.