Once upon a time, Fiat dominated in Italy, but in 2024 the Italian brand of the Euro-American Stellantis group collapsed: 143,814 units sold, down 17%. Fortunately, there’s the Panda: it represents 70% of the manufacturer’s total deliveries in Italy. Disaster in the big European markets. Germany at 57,561 and -24%, France 32,183 and -20%, while the UK at 14,253 and -14%. In Europe, the company holds a market share of just 2.5% and hovers around 15th place in the brand rankings. Fiat has three problems to solve in 2025.
Fiat, sales declining in Europe in 2024: excellent numbers in Brazil
Consumers loved the thermal Fiat 500, normal, easy, logical, with competitive pricing. The car was perfect for short trips from point A to point B. Ideal for young people and not bad for women. Then came the electric 500, a nightmare between very high price and slow, poor quality, scarce public charging stations. Without a Tesla Supercharger-type ecosystem, it’s painful: wallbox promotions are insufficient. Moreover, electricity costs have skyrocketed: the small electric car pairs poorly with high maintenance costs.
Germany introduced substantial incentives and the electric 500 held up. A decent help also from Italian eco-bonuses, though poorly conceived. Without state aid, the battery-powered 500 is considered very expensive.
The average consumer buys a car also for image returns: at the status symbol level, Fiat is declining. Other logos are sexier, appear more modern. The appeal has been lost over time, also because the 600 is certainly not revolutionary from a technological perspective. The stop-and-start nature of production at the Mirafiori plant in Italy, where the 500e is built, due to slow sales, is a hard blow to the image.
Fiat sales in the United States increased from a mere 605 units in 2023 to 1,528 units in 2024: +154% for the Italian brand. Which means absolutely nothing. Other manufacturers sell 1,500 cars per day, not per year. Here too, the electric 500 isn’t selling well: 970 units. A decade ago, annual registrations of the gasoline Fiat 500 exceeded 40,000 units in the United States. In 2012, Fiat sold more than 46,000 500s in the USA. For comparison, Jeep placed 587,725 vehicles in 2024 and RAM 439,039 units, although declining. Fiat’s underperformance needs context: Stellantis registered a 15% sales decline in the United States last year, with Dodge at -29% due to the end of Charger and Challenger production.
Considering that bad news comes from Turkey (94,737 units in 2024, -24%), fortunately there’s Brazil: 521,184 units and +9.6% thanks to significant demand for pick-ups of all sizes. This momentum is supported by Fiat Mobi, Argo, Fastback, Pulse, Toro, which Brazilian consumers like.
Fiat‘s comeback is expected with the future Grande Panda, the hybrid 500, and the new electric 500. In Europe, Dacia has taken significant market share from the Italian company. Stellantis is also facing leadership turmoil following the sudden resignation of CEO Carlos Tavares, who resigned more than a year before his planned retirement. The challenge for Stellantis remains open: positioning itself in a hyper-competitive BEV market, with Chinese companies showing aggressiveness both in electric mobility and ADAS technology.