Fiat may never make a car positioned above the C-segment, according to Fiat-Chrysler chief Sergio Marchionne.
Fiat ended production of its D-segment Croma last year and therefore no longer makes a model larger than the Bravo. The latter is soon to be replaced with a model similar in concept to the Qashqai.
Speaking at the Geneva motor show, Marchionne said the failure of the Croma – “which I thought was a very good car, but it could never gain traction” – has forced him to re-evaluate how he views the brand.
“We need to be clear on the potential of the Fiat brand and its DNA,” he said. “Now we have Chrysler, we don’t need to push Fiat into a space it can’t manage. We also have Alfa to play higher than Fiat.”
Fiat has launched the 500L at the Geneva show, a model Marchionne “will watch with interest as it may prove the 500 can be a success as a brand in its own right”.
“The 500 and Panda are our cornerstones,” he said. “We have maybe extended Fiat too far in the past, but not like some other brands have. That may be it for us in the D-segment. If we didn’t have Chrysler I’d be scared but we can survive in the smaller segments. We don’t want to push Fiat too far where it wouldn’t stand a chance.”
