Fiat Auto South Africa is maintaining its impressive sales momentum by posting a record month for March this year. The 1014 vehicles retailed by the company’s dealers reflect a 65% increase over the figures for March 2005. This comfortably places Fiat Auto South Africa as the third fastest growing motor manufacturer, having achieved a year-to-date increase of 56% over 2005.

The Managing Director of Fiat Auto South Africa, Mr Giorgio Gorelli, is very satisfied with the results and attributes this sales success to three factors. “Our new line-up has produced some clear winners in the marketplace in the form of Strada, Panda and the most recently launched Palio Vibe; proving that if you’ve got what people want, it will sell,” Gorelli said. Introduced mid last month and positioned just above the current Go!, the new Vibe is powered by the same feisty 1.2-litre engine that sees service in a number of Fiat products and it’s conveniently available in both three- and five-door guise. The three-door Vibe has been priced at R89 900, while the five-door is R91 900.
 

Secondly, he mentioned the importance of young, female and emerging buyers; target audiences which, according to the latest market research, Fiat is most successful at attracting.

Thirdly, Gorelli concluded by praising the ‘great work’ that has been done by the Group’s dealer network: “We have recently had a number of new, state-of-the-art dealers come on stream – this together with existing dealerships that have made substantial investments in upgrading their facilities, has certainly helped Fiat Auto South Africa to up its game in the sales race.”