Fiat Will Invest €9 Billion in Italian Auto Manufacturing

FiatFiatItaly, 1899 > present159 models
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Group has announced that it will invest €9 billion ($12.3 billion) in Europe over the next three years to reopen closed factories and build new models.

The main focus of the investment will be the Fiat brand, which will get new variants of the 500Fiat 500 (modern)Italy, 2007 > present240 versions
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and PandaFiat Panda Gen.3Italy, 2011 > present24 versions
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, but Alfa RomeoAlfa RomeoItaly, 1910 > present108 models
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and MaseratiMaseratiItaly, 1914 > present62 models
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will also benefit with expanded production and new cars.

Fiat has decided to focus on the Panda and 500 for the future as its major model platforms and to build off of them. The Panda will be the budget-friendly cars in the lineup, and the 500 will be slightly more upscale for a higher price.

"The Fiat brand has two dimensions, Panda-500, functional-aspirational, left brain-right brain," said Fiat brand CEO Olivier Francois.

Fiat will also begin building JeepJeepUnited States of America, 1941 > present33 models
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SUVs in Italy to take up factory capacity, and it may offer a Fiat branded version in Europe.

"We will utilize what we have in defense of what we have. We will not be shutting down plants. We will shift our production capacity in accordance with our premium brand strategy,” said Fiat Group CEO Sergio Marchionne.

Fiat’s investment plan is in hopes to stem falling sales in Europe. Fiat sales have fallen 47% since 2009 in Europe and market share has fallen to 6.2% from 9.3% in 2009.

Source: Automotive News Europe