Fiat reveals Jeep sales plan

The number of Jeeps for sale is to be doubled.


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By :  ,  Financial Analyst

The share price of Fiat is down this morning (May 7th) after the company announced it is planning to massively increase production of its popular Jeep range of vehicles.

By expanding sales outside of the US and launching a series of new models within the range, Fiat is now planning to double the number of Jeeps it sells in the next four years.

Fiat, which took full control of Chrysler at the start of the year, stated that it is now aiming to sell 1.9 million Jeeps in four years time, which would be significantly up from 732,000 last year.

But investors appeared to be unconvinced by the car manufacturer's plans for the future, as shares in the company slipped back in early trading in Milan this morning.

The firm also revealed that it is planning a major refresh of its Alfa Romeo brand, with eight new models proposed to be produced by the company in the coming months and years.

"We plan to sell 400,000 cars by 2018, more than fivefold what we sell today," it said.

Global sales

Jeep brand boss Mike Manley explained that global sales are likely to be driven higher as a result of the plans revealed by Fiat. He said: "China and Brazil are forecast to represent 32 per cent of the global [sport utility vehicle] market, and today we're a niche player because we are an import-only brand."

China and Brazil are two of the fastest growing economies in the world, with one of the major impacts of this being that the countries have rapidly expanding middle classes. These people have an increasingly strong level of demand for products such as cars, with companies such as Fiat hoping to take advantage of this new market by ramping up its exports.

Fiat added in a statement that it is also expecting to return the Chrysler brand to "the volumes and share it has achieved in the past" in the near future.

Despite the company's positivity, shares in the firm were eight per cent down at 09:25 BST and continued falling through the morning. 

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