I guess it may be safety in numbers of dealerships that may be holding things back, perhaps tempered by recent Fiat UK events.
I mean if Fiats old CEO Sergio Marchione could seem to publicly state to the effect that Fiat may pull out of the UK if sales of the GP did not do well........
That made us sweat a bit about buying the new Punto van 18 months ago in the UK.
What would it be like in Australia if the Fiat range does not take off enough to be economic?
There must at least be concern amongst some potential owners that the whole thing may go belly up and leave them without any support.
At least continental europe with its heavy Fiat presence is within easy reach here.
(The safety net for us and why we did not buy a Corsa van)
That said, the upcoming Fiat range looks great to me. Personally I think Fiats future in Australia may hinge on whether they have taken the time to modify the cars sufficiently to local conditions.
History gives us the examples of the 1970s Fiats built in Italy and being acceptable for local conditions, but on being exported to northern europe, being woefully protected from UK winter road salt corrosion. There were also those tiny slits for windscreen demisting that were fine in Rome, but inadequate in the UK.
You would surely expect Fiats exported to Aus to have beefed up suspension and larger sump capacities, larger oil and air filters, oil coolers, twin rad fans, protected brake lines and full undertrays.
Assuming of course that you guys don`t just hang about in your home city
Regards
