Italy's new car sales rose 19.61 percent year-on-year in March, figures from the Transport Ministry published on Thursday showed.
New car sales totalled 257,694 units compared with 215,443 units a year ago.
Fiat's <FIA.MI> Italy March new car sales were up 14.8 percent year-on-year, giving it a market share of 31.27 percent, according to Reuters calculations.
Brazil car output soars in March, sales hit record
* Brazil auto output jumps 32.5 pct in March vs February
* Sales soar 60 pct from February to an all-time high
* Fiat leads market again in March, followed by GM
SAO PAULO, April 7
Automobile output in Brazil soared in March as manufacturers ramped up production to keep up with record sales fueled by a strong economic rebound, the national automakers' association Anfavea said on Wednesday.
Automakers churned out 331,000 new cars and trucks last month, a 32.5 percent increase over February and up 20.3 percent from March 2009.
Sales grew at an even faster pace in March as consumers rushed to take advantage of an expiring tax break that has allowed dealers to lower showroom prices.
New car and truck sales surged 60.1 percent from February and 30.3 percent from a year earlier, reaching an all-time monthly high of 353,700 units, Anfavea said.
Last week, the national association of automobile dealers Fenabrave had reported sales figures for March.
In the first quarter of 2010, sales jumped 17.9 percent to 788,000 units, also a record, Anfavea said.
Brazil, Latin America's largest economy, is a major market for Italy's Fiat SpA <FIA.MI>, Germany's Volkswagen AG <VOWG.DE>, and U.S.-based General Motors Co [GM.UL] and Ford Motor Co <F.N>.
The government of President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva slashed industrial taxes for the auto industry last year in a bid to keep sales alive during an economic downturn.
With the economy growing again at a robust pace, the government decided not to renew the tax breaks, which expired at the end of March.
Fiat remained the market leader in March, selling a whopping 73,545 vehicles, up 51 percent over February. GM came in second with sales of 70,037 units, up 65.5 percent over February.
Volkswagen sales surged 63.1 percent to 69,711 units, while Ford sold 36,303 cars and trucks last month, a 55.1 percent increase over February.
Fiat Reports First-Quarter Net Loss, Forecasts Trading Profit
April 21, 2010
Fiat SpA, the Italian automaker that acquired a 20 percent stake in Chrysler Group LLC last year, reported a first-quarter loss, sending the stock as much as 3.5 percent lower in Milan.
The net loss narrowed to 25 million euros ($33.6 million) from 410 million euros a year earlier, Turin, Italy-based Fiat said in a statement today. Analysts had projected net income of 51.6 million euros. Fiat returned to profit on the basis of earnings before interest, taxes and one-time gains or costs. Sales rose to 12.9 billion euros from 11.3 billion euros.
The company forecast so-called trading profit of 1.1 billion euros to 1.2 billion euros. Fiat, which also manufactures trucks and equipment for the farming and construction industries, is scheduled to announce a five-year business strategy today.
The company is reviving a plan to separate the car division, according to two people with knowledge of the matter. Fiat said yesterday that Vice Chairman John Elkann, an heir to the Agnelli family, will succeed Luca Cordero di Montezemolo as chairman.
Chief Executive Officer Sergio Marchionne, who is also CEO of Chrysler, said on March 26 he expects all of Fiat’s businesses to improve this year except for the carmaking unit after European governments decided not to renew incentives. European auto sales still benefited from the last effects in the first quarter, while sales in Brazil rose more than expected.
“The swing comes mainly from the auto business, with the first quarter marking the trough of the crisis,” Bruno Lapierre, an analyst with French brokerage Cheuvreux, wrote in an April 15 note.
Fiat fell as much as 36 cents, or 3.5 percent, to 10.06 euros and traded at 10.20 euros as of 10:42 a.m. in Milan.
‘Year of Transition’
Marchionne has said 2010 will be a “year of transition” as the auto industry emerges from its worst crisis in decades. The CEO has predicted car demand in Europe, where Fiat sells almost half of its autos, will drop about 15 percent this year to its lowest level since 1994.
Fiat, which this year is equipping more of its cars with reduced-emission Multi Air engines, rolling out a 500-model subcompact with a new 2-cylinder engine and beginning sales of the Alfa Romeo-brand Giulietta hatchback, is detailing production plans and savings from its alliance with Chrysler, the third-largest U.S.-based carmaker, in an investor presentation later today. Marchionne has also said he will discuss whether Fiat plans to spin off its automotive unit.
Marchionne has said he plans to invest more than 8 billion euros in factory equipment and vehicle development in the next two years, with the introduction of 17 models and upgrades of 13 cars now in its lineup. Two-thirds of the spending will be in Italy, where Fiat aims to raise production to 800,000 to 1 million cars from 650,000 vehicles currently.
Cooperation with Auburn Hills, Michigan-based Chrysler is slated to include both companies’ use of the Giulietta Compact platform as the basis for new models. Chrysler will provide its Italian partner with a sport-utility vehicle this year as well as five more vehicles for Fiat or its Lancia division in 2011, according to presentations on Fiat’s Web site.
Fiat Plots New Directions for Ferrari and Maserati
An “affordable” Maserati? A new Enzo supercar? Those were just two surprises that emerged Wednesday from a daylong conference call in which Fiat laid out its five-year plan.
Sergio Marchionne, chief executive of Fiat and Chrysler, spoke after the Fiat Group issued its quarterly report, detailing an elaborate plan for Fiat and Chrysler to combine to produce six million vehicles annually by 2014 — a figure he said was crucial in keeping the company solvent.
The revamp will include major moves by Fiat’s two luxury sports car brands, Maserati and Ferrari.
Mr. Marchionne said that Maserati would create a new entry-level model, priced at less than $75,000. Currently, Maserati’s lowest priced car is the Gran Turismo at around $115,000. According to Maserati, the new car will have “a completely new style.”
A new Enzo supercar will highlight six new models that Ferrari is considering for production in the next three to four years. According to Autocar, the reinvented Enzo will be powered by either a direct-injection twin-turbo V-8 or a direct-injection twin-turbo V-6. It will also show off a new technology called active aerodynamics that pumps air out through the body to influence the way air flows over and under the skin.
The four-year Ferrari plan calls for the introduction of a new model every year and increased product differentiation to “target a wider customer base by stretching further trade off between versatility and extreme performance.”
Ferrari’s standard range of cars — the Enzo is a special edition — will feature a convertible 458 Spider next year and a new 599 GTB in 2012. In 2013, it is expected that Ferrari will update the California, which would become the California M.
Mr. Marchionne also said that Alfa Romeo would return to the United States market by 2013.
Also this week, the chairman of the Fiat Group, Luca Cordero di Montezemolo, was succeeded by John Elkann, 34, the vice chairman and grandson of the former chairman and company patriarch, Giovanni Agnelli, who died in 2003.
These are the first pictures of the new Fiat Uno, which leaked out in the company's restructuring documents. The all-new supermini will sit between the Panda and the Grande Punto.
The new model will use the famous Uno name and in effect be a replacement for the original Uno and Mk2 Punto, both of which are still in production in various parts of the world. It was confirmed for production in 2012 as part of Fiat's new five-year plan.
See the pictures of the new Fiat Uno
Launched in 1983, the crisply designed and spacious Uno supermini was a huge hit for Fiat.
Sources say the new model is based on a shortened and simplified version of the Grande Punto platform. It should be around 3.8 metres long, which would make it a similar size to the Mazda 2. However, the design will focus on interior space in a bid to deliver more room than any similar-priced rival.
It's thought that the new car will be priced very aggressively, but there's no news yet as to whether it will be launched in the UK.
However, in the face of huge competition from Korean brands and the gaping hole between the Panda and Grande Punto, Fiat could achieve significant success with the Uno in Europe and Russia.
It's clear that Fiat has moved away from the design language of the Punto and original Uno and produced a much more curvaceous, friendly-looking car.
There are also strong shades of the Panda around the upright tailgate and vertical tail-lights. The three offset slots in the nose are a reference to the original Panda.
Previous scoop shots appeared to show that the Uno will be sold in entry-level, upmarket sporting and pseudo-SUV guises.
There's little news on engines, but it's thought that the sophisticated new Multiair units will be too expensive for all but the range-topping models.
The Uno is initially being built at Fiat Brazil's Betim plant starting in 2012. The factory has recently announced plans to hire 1000 new workers and boost output by six per cent to 3200 cars per day.
Ferrari to Cut Jobs, Idle Plants on Lower Orders A
May 11 2010
Ferrari SpA, the maker of $228,000 California supercars, is seeking to idle production and eliminate 9 percent of its workforce after sister brand Maserati reduced orders for engines.
Workers walked out for four hours today because Ferrari wants to cut 120 office positions and 150 factory jobs in exchange for the last payment of a 2009 bonus due last month, CGIL union official Giordano Fiorani said today in a telephone interview. The sports-car maker employs about 3,000 people.
Ferrari, Fiat SpA’s most profitable brand, plans to idle a factory in Maranello, Italy, by laying off about 600 workers for a week starting May 17, Fiorani said. Ferrari is scaling back because of fewer orders from Fiat’s Maserati brand, for which Ferrari makes engines, said Ferrari spokesman Stefano Lai, who confirmed the plans to lower headcount and idle production.
“Even though Ferrari’s margins are very high, they wanted to do better,” said Massimo Vecchio, an automotive analyst at Mediobanca SpA in Milan. “The recovery is moving very slowly.”
Ferrari is slashing 2010 production targets to 11,000 vehicles from 20,000, CGIL union’s Fiorani said. Ferrari never planned to make 20,000 cars this year and will maintain production at about 6,000 vehicles, similar to last year’s output, Lai said.
The company intends to outsource some jobs to local companies and offer some employees early retirement, Lai said.
‘Non Core’ Operations
Ferrari made engines for about 4,500 Maseratis last year, down from almost 9,000 in 2008. Lai declined to say how many Maserati engines will be made this year.
In an e-mailed statement, Ferrari said that the company is focusing its resources on activities such as product development, technological innovation and reaching new customers and has decided to outsource “non-core” operations. This will allow the carmaker to maintain about 100 contract workers, Ferrari said.
“Ferrari has to respond to market demands that rise and fall in an ever less-predictable fashion,” it said.
Fiat Chief Executive Officer Sergio Marchionne unveiled a new five-year plan for Ferrari and Maserati April 21, along with new targets for all the group brands, calling for the two luxury carmakers to almost double revenue to about 4 billion euros by 2014 by adding products and widening model ranges.
Trading Profit
Ferrari’s first-quarter trading profit declined 28 percent to 39 million euros ($50 million), the company said April 21. Sales of the new F458 model, which is priced at 197,000 euros, provided a limited contribution in the period, the company said. Trading profit for 2009 fell 30 percent to 238 million euros as sales dropped 7.4 percent to 1.8 billion euros. Ferrari sold 6,294 cars last year.
“Ferrari has proposed to pay the bonuses if we accept the job cuts,” Fiorani said. “We are ready to discuss layoffs and reorganization, as there is a real cut in production, but we don’t understand their rigidity.”
Turin, Italy-based Fiat rose 21 cents, or 2.3 percent, to 9.53 euros at the close of trading in Milan. The stock is down 7 percent this year, valuing the carmaker at 11.2 billion euros.
2010 International Engines Of The Year ANNOUNCED, Can You Guess Who Won?
6/24/2010
After what must have been a long debate, the 2010 International Engines of the Year have been announced.
2010 was not an easy year to pick motors. There are plenty of good ones laying around. I mean, how do you decipher what's better; the 4.5L V8 seen in Ferrari's all-new 458 Italia or Mercedes-Benz's largely utilized 6.2L V8 powerplant that is in a TON of its AMG models?
Ultimately, the big winner for the Best New Motor of 2010 was Fiat's 1.4L MultiAir Turbo.
Fiat’s MultiAir, the single most innovative engine technology to appear in the past 12 months, has been rewarded by the Awards judging panel with the title of Best New Engine of 2010.
MultiAir employs an electrohydraulic system to independently control each cylinder’s inlet air charge. Depending on the driving situation, there are five main modes of inlet valve timing and lift, but in principle MultiAir enables infinitely variable control of the inlet valves.
The system is particularly special because it is able to increase power and torque while reducing fuel consumption and emissions. The concept is therefore ideal for today’s world of eco-conscious, downsized automotive powertrains...
Alfa Romeo planning to reach 500,000 annual sales by 2014
Jul 2nd, 2010
The Alfa Romeo brand is a tough one to pin down... or perhaps it's parent company Fiat that's elusive, or maybe just CEO Sergio Marchionne that refuses to be a fixed target. New Alfa-Abarth-Maserati CEO Harald Wester has said that Alfa's long-term sales target is 500,000 vehicles by 2014. That's a mountainous 400,000-unit increase over 2009 sales, yet the route to the peak of that mountain isn't any clearer than it was in January when Alfa wasn't coming to the U.S., except that Alfa finally has "the right conditions, the right products and the right synergies to get there," according to Wester.
A brief summary of the timeline: in January Marchionne says Fiat can't come to the States unless it makes a business case – which, at that point, hadn't been made; later that same month Harald Wester takes his consolidated CEO position; in February Marchionne says Alfas will be sold in the U.S. by 2012; and in April Fiat's five-year plan is unveiled with Alfa slotting in six new models, some based on Chrysler platforms.
The only detail we're missing is why Alfa Romeo thinks it will work this time, this well. Alfa has been underperforming in Europe in spite of the models its been releasing, and we don't know why Chrysler platforms would change that. True, Alfa is only relying on the U.S. market for that growth, but an average year-on-year increase of 80,000 cars, starting this year, is an order of the tallest kind. And that's before any talk of Alfa having to battle Lancia for market share and marketing dollars.
Audi may have big U.S. targets too, but Audi won't need to fight the perceptions of a dishonorable discharge from the U.S. market two decades ago in order to meet them. We've been expecting Alfas product assault to be good. But with these numbers, we'll expect it to be phenomenal.
Fiat ready to return in the United States after an absence of 30 years
7/27/2010
2010 Fiat 500 TwinAirAfter a nearly 30-year absence, the Fiat brand is expected to return to North America in December. The figures have yet to be confirmed but it’s believed that 50,000 and 100,000 vehicles will be made in North America in 2011.
Watch out for the Fiats to make an appearance in about 200 US Chrysler Group dealerships, primarily in metropolitan areas. The lineup includes the 500 minicar as well as four subsequent variations. They are set to rival small imports such as the Mini. The 500 returns more than 40 mpg. The Fiat 500 two-door hatchback is set to arrive in December. Powered by a 100-hp, 1.4-liter Fiat FIRE engine, the model also is equipped with the carmaker’s MultiAir system, which improves performance and fuel economy.
The Toluca, Mexico facility will start making the four-seat car while the engine, will be built in Dundee, Mich. In 2011, Fiat’s convertible version of the 500 in North America will go on sale. Assembly will be accomplished in Toluca. Meanwhile, a 2012 version will be added in 2012.
The EV, which will be sold only in the US, will be powered by a lithium ion battery pack. Also in 2012, Fiat will sell an Abarth performance brand version of the 500. The Abarth will feature an imported version of the 1.4-liter FIRE turbo engine that offers 160 hp.
Fiat will also import a four-door version of the 500 from Serbia. In Europe, where the model goes on sales in 2012, the still-unnamed vehicle would be classified as a small minivan because it has a hatch in the rear and a high roof. The timing for US sales is unclear.
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