With the recovery in the demand for the passenger vehicles in the US auto market, the Italian auto giant Fiat is looking forward to export its popular jeeps to the American market. Initially, the company will be importing the recently rolled-out vehicle –Fiat Panda – so that the firm can capitalize on the rising demand of this segment of vehicles.
In a recent statement, the Head of Fiat Chrysler, Mr. Sergio Marchionne said that demand for vehicles is recovering in the US market, and if it reaches the volume of 14 to 15 million, the company may require importing vehicle from its base market Europe. According to Mr. Marchionne, the company is planning to import models like Compass, Patriot, Liberty and a number of other B segment vehicles to the US market, after assembling these vehicles in its plants in Turin, Italy.
The need of importing vehicle from the European market was realized by the company as it had moved the production capacity out of the US market at time of slowdown a few years back. At that time, the company had only retained two third of its production capacity in the US market. With the recovery in demand, the company now feels that its global portfolio vehicles like Jeep and Alfa need to be made available in the US market. However, the models like Wrangler would continue to be produced at the firm’s plant at Toledo, Ohio.
