Fiat Brazil: Uno Kicks Gol Off Top Spot. Films At Eleven

Following up on the good news of sister Chrysler in America, Fiat do Brasil has some good news of their own to send embattled Turin's way. As of March 20, the Uno has officially pushed ahead of the VW Gol and has taken the sales crown in Brazil. According to Brazilian car site webmotors.com.br, this is the first time the Uno has been ahead of the Gol for an extended period of time. Hitherto, the Uno had threatened VW's pride and joy a month or another, then lagged behind. But wait, there's more! As of March 20, Fiat has grown their market share in passenger cars and LCVs to 24%, while VW managed to hold on with 20.7%. Apparently, Fiat has gained on the coattails of GM, which has fallen to 15.9%. GM had started the year in spectacular fashion being market leader in January, and made Brazilian Chevy fan boys smile. However, that amazing performance proved to be short-lived and much to their dismay, GM's drop has been even more dumbfounding. The Uno is ahead of the Gol by a grand total of 52 cars. In March so far the difference is much bigger: 13,993 to 12,361. On the year, the Uno has sold 50,056 while the Gol has managed 50,004 sales. Of course, these numbers are but a preview and a lot can change until the end of the month, but the fact is that the Uno has seen rising growth while Gol sales are stagnant. As to the general market, month on month growth has been of 7.75% while the year has seen a pitiful rise of only 1.86%. So, many pretenders to a pie that's not growing so much. In stark contrast to Europe, Fiat is facing this situation by launching new models. They have just launched their trump card in Brazil's second largest market segment, that of the compact sedan. Fiat's offer to the market is the Grand Siena (see video below and more on it later). Suffice to say the sheet metal and much of the mechanical bits are all new. This car's wheelbase has grown from 2.37m to 2.51m. Facing the likes of Renault's Logan (reviewed here), VW's Voyage, Ford's New Fiesta, Nissan's Versa and Chevy's Cobalt (reviewed here). Along with the new Palio, the Grand Siena is Fiat's bet that they'll keep on leading and Brazil. If they are right, they may well keep the lights on in Turin. from The Truth About Cars http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com

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