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Fiat has made plans to launch a new line of low-cost cars in western Europe.

Two of the three models are reported to have been developed by Fiat and its Brazilian subsidiary. They had originally been scheduled to replace Fiat’s ageing Palio ‘world car’ and the Uno supermini, which is still made in modified form in Brazil.

Fiat has decided to restyle the cars for western European markets and launch them by 2010 under a new brand. They would be aimed at budget-conscious buyers at the...Read the full article

 

In the past they have sold Uno, brazilian Uno, Duna (brazilian Uno estate) and Yugo Koral under the old Innocenti brand. But that sounds loser-ish. They also have Autobianchi, which was a premium brand of small cars. Reviving an old, discontinued brand may not be the best option; perhaps they will create a new brand like GM has done with Saturn (while killing Oldsmobile).

....what a genius idea. Get cheap low cost cars to market at the end of a recession. 

Anyone who thinks that we will have had enough of the cheap option in two years time is mad.

Me, i cant get enough of the overpriced retro, pastiche 500 at present. 

 

jonfortwo:

....what a genius idea. Get cheap low cost cars to market at the end of a recession.

 

We'll probably be laughing at them in the same way we laugh at the moment at Audi and Porsche for bringing out 500bhp family estates or yet evermore outlandish variations on the Cayenne theme.

jonfortwo:

....what a genius idea. Get cheap low cost cars to market at the end of a recession.

 

Rather optimistic view jon? End of recession eh?  I don't think we've seen the half of it yet.

Besides, cheap small cars will always have a place in the market, boom or bust. So what's the problem?>

 

 I'm hoping one result of the recession is a shift to small, light, premium cars. We're stuck with a retarded notion that fat=luxury, the sooner we can switch our perception away from that the better. It'll probably take a company other than Fiat (say BM or Gordon Murray) to enble that shift, but i personally think it can't come soon enough...

Are you sure this is a recession? Could this not be a change? Has money been lost? Could it not have just moved around so the rich get richer? Think the service industry days of the UK since  Thatcher are over, if there is going to be a future for the UK it is not going to be a plc or involve being a phone slacker, probably more likely involve something like making a tata nano at a Land Rover factory, and buying home manufatcured consumerables because that is all we will be able to afford if we carry on with the pound.

So I think Fiat maybe on to something, but don't quite see they need to create a new brand for it, could do with fixing their customer service reputation at the same time though.

I wonder what the new brand will be? I hope that Autobianchi is resurrected.

Very good idea from Fiat. I absolutely adore the 500, and have always loved little Fiats. Looking forward to what they'll come out with.

 They're creating a new brand to sell low cost cars? Why? To stop the FIAT brand being associated with small low cost cars? I think they're about 50 years too late.

The Logan has been a great success for Renault even before the recession. Nobody knows how to make small cars like Fiat- in the last few years they've massively increased their market share in Europe. The Brits can keep their old blinkers on(as we see in a lot of the posts her) but the fact is that the British car industry is dead while the Italians are doing very nicely all things considered. 

montgomery:

The Logan has been a great success for Renault even before the recession. Nobody knows how to make small cars like Fiat- in the last few years they've massively increased their market share in Europe.

Quite right Montgomery the Logan has been an almost unprecedented success. 

Here where I live in France they are quite literally everywhere as are almost countless thousands of old Renault 4’s, 21’s, Pug 205’s, 405’s etc. etc. and the same thing goes for other countries in Europe.     

 

It would appear that it is the UK which has got it totally wrong with the highest levels of borrowing per head in the entire world and an almost lemming like need to buy cars the people can’t afford to run. 

 

As you drive down the road, just ask yourself how many of the people you see driving M6’s and their like actually own them.  

 

Fiat and so many other manufacturers are now making massive steps to produce affordable cars for a dramatically changing market…..  Good luck to them all.