Fiat Looks To Buttress 500, Panda With Low-Cost Car

With the Fiat brand looking to move into the "premium small" space, where its 500 and Panda vehicles currently thrive, there will likely be an opportunity for a low-cost brand within the Fiat empire, and Sergio Marchionne is already investigating the possibility of a low-cost Fiat built outside of Europe, that would go head-to-head with Dacia and other similar products. Unlike Renault-Nissan, Fiat cannot utilize any of its European capacity to build a car with an MSRP of 7,450 euros. Fiat is looking at facilities outside of Europe to see if building such a car is viable.  According to Automotive News, Fiat has previously looked at low-cost cars, but scuttled plans due to uncertainties regarding profitability. But Fiat's new upmarket shift would likely necessitate lower-end cars to fill the entry-level void in Fiat's lineup. Speaking to TTAC at the 2013 Detroit Auto Show, Fiat sources clarified their future product direction (which, contrary to prior reports, would not involved paring the model lineup down the just the Panda and 500) and tacitly admitted that the low-cost segment was one in which Fiat may enter in the future from The Truth About Cars http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com

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