The Fiat 500 was, in bluntest terms, a sales flop in the US. They estimated that 50,000 of them would fly off of dealer lots when in reality only something like 20,000 did.
To solve the problem of America they've taken the easy route and simply made the car BIGGER. Despite more doors, the 500L is less than 3-inches longer than the normal 500 at 13.6 feet. Width is 5.8 feet and the 500L stands 5.4 feet tall. The 500L (guess what L stands for) is a B-segment car with the "feel of a small SUV." Just what we've always wanted? Let's hope Fiat gets some more power out of the 1.4-liter Multiair; 101 hp barely cuts it in the 500.
The 500L makes its debut at the 2012 Geneva Motor Show and will go on sale in the US in 2013. It will be built in Kragujevac, Serbia.
bankerdanny says:
10:39 AM, 02/ 2/12
Does Fiat not sell the 500 anymore?
I really don't see how you can make such an absolute statement. Yes they missed the target by a big number. They also had an awful ad campaign and an extremely limited dealer presence. hitting 50,000 cars would have been a monster success.
I can agree that the 500 has so far been a sales disappointment, but to call it a sales flop at this point is too strong.
0757lx says:
11:45 AM, 02/ 2/12
bankerdanny +1
billt9 says:
12:46 PM, 02/ 2/12
Forget this. Invest in some modernized Dodge crossovers and sedans.
isend2c says:
01:04 PM, 02/ 2/12
Seriously, does nobody else see that's a Fiat Panda with a different bumper? It's like the Journey in Europe, just has a different bumper...
throwback says:
01:06 PM, 02/ 2/12
isend2c, yes it is a Panda the front screen is the giveaway. The Panda shares the 500's platform.
heidis says:
01:18 PM, 02/ 2/12
Yup. A wall eyed Panda. The Jeep version there's been rumblings of is bound to be more comical. I'm thinking a coke bottle bespectacled and gap toothed mini-ute. And Jeep will undoubtedly kit it with those horrendously dim H13 jobs, to add insult to the ugly.
ctpaul says:
02:42 PM, 02/ 2/12
"flop" is way too strong a word - the dealer network was slow to materialize (in fact they are still adding dealers), the ads turned people off, and you had a brand new model from a manufacturer (Fiat) with a "checkered" past in the US at best. Plus it is a small car. For some months of the year it did outsell the Mini to which it is regularly compared, and in Canada (you have some readers there) it outsold the Mini in 2011. Anyone know what the Mini sales were first year out of the gate? Your long term car has been reliable, and the anecdotal evidence is the same for the 500 as a whole. So if Chrysler had instead predicted 25k in sales, it would be pretty much a success? It was always planned to add models to the 500, including the larger 500 or 4 door 500 shown here (which is really built on a different platform). Plus the 500 factory in Mexico supplies all of North, Central and South America with 500's, and in many parts of the Americas they sell well. Add to that a brand new engine from a US factory (Dundee MI I think) and I would call the 500 a qualified success.
blueprint1 says:
07:16 PM, 02/ 2/12
Canadian 2 cents (worth the same as the American pennies these days):
The 500 is one of the success stories of 2011 up here. Plenty of the little buggers all over the place, especially around big towns like Montreal.
This morning, gas was at 1,419$ per litre, a sharp overnight hike.
That's 5.37$ per US Gallon. For Regular. Easily explains our compact-heavy mix of cars, even though we have the same fleet as the US.
This thing will sell here.
heavenhill says:
08:41 PM, 02/ 2/12
An Italian car made in Serbia and loved by French Canadians. I'm guessing this won't be a huge seller in the US.
vegan4life says:
10:35 PM, 02/ 2/12
The design language is still speaking Italian, a language in which most North American consumers are not fluent. Hard to image Fiat moving more than 1,000 of these homely mini-knock-offs per month. I do like the Abarth, but I digress...
lostboyz says:
03:32 AM, 02/ 3/12
Where there are dealers they are selling just fine for a new brand selling a single car. The problem is the dealer network is still about half of what it was planned to be.
I love the negativity, while you guys suck at the teet of mini who has proven to produce unreliable garbage, here comes a competitor and you claim there isn't a market to it?
Mike I would love to see an unbiased post from you, just once. Or just keep your opinion to a line at the bottom. We aren't here because of your writing (if you can call it that), we are here for the news.
akcaped says:
05:03 AM, 02/ 3/12
"The Fiat 500 was, in bluntest terms, a sales flop in the US. "
Really? Who comes up with this crap? The article is unsigned and the credentials of the 'writer' are neatly omitted. Really Edmunds? This is the best you can do?
I'm guessing the person writing is young and immature, never having had to work through a problem, never having had to persevere --- raised in a generation of instant satisfaction, unfamiliar with anything approaching real satisfaction.
Really Edmunds,? Please.
akcaped says:
05:09 AM, 02/ 3/12
Mike Magrath -- I see now. What exactly are your credentials?
church123 says:
08:46 AM, 02/ 3/12
For all those criticizing McGrath - if you can't judge someone by their own stated standards and goals, what _can_ you judge them by?
Maybe Fiat will grow 500 sales substantially this year (even without the new model). I don't think they will, i think they'll be hard pressed to even stay flat, but that's neither here nor there. But if you go by what they were advertising pre-launch, they failed in the US last year pretty badly. Just one more reason why "underpromise and overdeliver" needs to be tattooed on the eyeballs of more people. :)
bankerdanny says:
10:14 AM, 02/ 3/12
@church: calling the 500 a flop sounds like a criticism of the vehicle. Are their storage lots filled with unsold 500's? If there is, then I agree the car was a flop.
But I don't think that is the case. I think that Fiat's sales efforts were what flopped. I blame the company for not creating the infrastructure and appropriate marketing buzz to hit their target not the car for being insufficiently attractive to produce the sales.
shermdog says:
12:00 PM, 02/ 3/12
Add a 1.8 or 2.0, all wheel drive and they might have something.
throwback says:
12:37 PM, 02/ 3/12
I don't see how this car can be called anything but a flop. It's about sales, FIAT's CEO said they would sell 50K, NOT Mike Mcgrath. They made 40% of their sales goal, how is that not a flop? It doesn't mean it is a bad car, but sales are sales.
lostboyz says:
01:00 PM, 02/ 3/12
@throwback and church. A flop, to me, would suggest that it is unwanted and sales are poor and supply is high. The reason the goal was missed was dealerships and advertising. The plant is extremely busy selling them in canada and south america, the dealer network is lacking in the US. So to call it a flop is ignorant at best. You could call the launch a flop, but not the car.
church123 says:
06:46 PM, 02/ 3/12
Well, the two dealers I see every week or two each have a lot of cars on hand. The closest one to me has 142 500s on the lot according to their website. Just over 100 regulars and the rest C's. The dealer in Orange County has 300 on the lot.
That seems awfully high to me. If Fiat sells 25k cars/year and there are what, 100 dealers nationwide they've got 6+ months inventory on hand. And there are at least 3 or 4 Fiat dealerships within 50 miles of me so they have to compete on that too.
calspecial68 says:
12:42 AM, 02/ 4/12
Awww what happened? The 500 lost its cute factor when it gained and "L." Shame. Why couldn't they use a play from Mini Cooper(core competitor for this car)'s playbook. Just ad a couple inches in length, change the hatch to barn doors, and keep the exact same iconic front end as the smaller 500. Easy money. Well, maybe not so. I don't think Mini made much off the Clubman, but I'm merely saying that because I never see one being driven.
calspecial68 says:
12:42 AM, 02/ 4/12
Awww what happened? The 500 lost its cute factor when it gained and "L." Shame. Why couldn't they use a play from Mini Cooper(core competitor for this car)'s playbook. Just ad a couple inches in length, change the hatch to barn doors, and keep the exact same iconic front end as the smaller 500. Easy money. Well, maybe not so. I don't think Mini made much off the Clubman, but I'm merely saying that because I never see one being driven.
mini23 says:
09:05 AM, 02/ 5/12
You know the auto media is similar to the political media in the US. They take a statement and blow it out of real proportion. Marchione has admited that 50,000 car sales for the 500 was completely unrealistic. Fiat had problems with dealership openings. There marketing campaigns have not exactly been sucessful. (I do like the one for the Abarth and makes more sense for marketing an Italian car).
J-Lo, however was a joke. Fiat sold a little over 1900 cars in January 2012. This without the Abarth
model to help out.(coming out in March). Also how many small car models were there in 2002 when Mini first came to the US.Answer not many. Mini also marketed their car properly as a fun to drive hatchback/sportscar/cute convertable. Circeling back to 2011-Mini sold approximately 45,000 cars in the US with 10 models. Fiat sold 20,000 with just 2 models(I don't consider the lounge or Gucci another model. It's the Hatchback Coupe and the Semi convertable). So far the reliability of the 500 has held up pretty well in general. The chief complant seems to be about some lower panels with cheap plastic not wearing as well as other plastic panels. Mechanically there have not been any major issues. Mini-Since the change over to the 2007 models forward has had some mechanical issues including problems with fires. Fiat is here and is here to stay. They are improving their approach with offering more models to solidify their brand. The Abarth is on the docket for March. There appears to be an EV coming and now this 500L which is larger then the Countryman. That is a smart move in itself because
Americans like bigger. The 500L will be priced less then the Countryman and will probably come with the Abarth engine or similar to the Dart's Fiat engine with more torque. I've seen plenty of Clubman's and I'm starting to see a trickle of 500's where I live. One other point. When Alfa starts selling their cars in Fiat dealerships that will also help improve the 500 brand sales.
church123 says:
10:58 PM, 02/ 5/12
That was a long post mini23, but it doesn't change the fact that Fiat missed their own goals by a huge margin. That's a flop. Back when I was working in the corporate world, if I missed my sales projections by that much I'd be at risk of losing my job (hmm, didn't someone at Fiat lose their job over this?). At a minimum I'd be highly unlikely to get a positive year end review (and the attendant pay raise/bonus).
Fiat is trying to carve out its own market segment below Mini. Cheaper, slower, weirder. Continually bringing up Mini's sales numbers doesn't change the fact that Fiat flopped in year one. Relativism is weak.
banhugh says:
08:51 AM, 02/ 6/12
FIAT was crazy to expect to find 50k drivers that can drive stick in the US, lol
scottyscooter says:
06:22 AM, 02/ 7/12
I'm going to have to side with Church 123 on this; since Fiat sold less than half of what they planned and fired thier US sales chief over the ordeal, thats a pretty clear indication that the car was a Flop.
This doesn't necessarily mean that the car sucks and can't be a future success. I believe that the single largest contributing factor to Fiat’s poor sales is their dealer network. Fiat is currently trying to sell this ONE car in the USA; they should have piggybacked onto the current Chrysler dealers and had this ONE car on all of the lots. Instead they chose to keep themselves separate.
I just used the Fiat dealer locator and put in my zip code; the nearest dealer to me is 103.95 miles away. What the F! It doesn’t take a genius to see why this car was a sales flop! And its not as if I live in the middle of nowhere; I live near a city with 3 large college universities in close proximity to me!
betterinus says:
08:24 AM, 02/ 8/12
I thinks most of the comments here are valid. Fiat needs more dealers if they expect to sell cars in the 50K arena. They did fall well short of their sales goals. What I don't understand is why they brought the 500 to the us first. Knowing how, us Americans, like big cars and more power they should have brought the Punto, or Bravo first. These would have been a much better choice. The Punto has the sporty hatchback look and more powerful engine choices. The Bravo would be a direct competitor to the Ford Focus, Chevy Cruz, and Hyundai Elantra.