Chrysler-Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne had high hopes for the launch of the Fiat 500 city car in the United States, but the 59-year old executive now admits that his initial 50,000 unit sales target was “incredibly naïve”.
Fiat set out to sell 50,000 units of the 500 in the United States last year, but ended 2011 with just 19,769 sales. Marchionne maintains that there is no problem with the 500 itself, but rather how Fiat settled on its 50,000 unit goal.
BMW’s MINI brand – a main competitor to Fiat and its 500 – sold 45,644 units of its Cooper model in 2010. Wanting to best his closest rival, Marchionne simply picked a number that was higher than MINI’s previous sales year in the United States.
“It was a number that we said would be in excess of what MINI was selling in the United States. It was that simple,” Marchionne said.
Marchionne downplayed the missed sales goal, calling it a “rounding error” in the Chrysler Group’s 2,009,000 global car sales in 2011.
Fiat has tempered its expectations for the 500 this year and is calling for sales between 25,000 and 35,000. The Canadian market is expected to add another 5,000 units.
Fiat is hoping that a new 500 Wagon model will kick-start sales in 2013.
References
1.’Sergio Marchionne…’ view
