Brojke u uzlaznom trendu, prodaja raste, samo se čeka Alfa Romeo.
http://seekingalpha.com/article/3078086-alfa-romeo-is-the-final-piece-in-the-jigsaw-for-fiat-chryslers-brand-strategy?source=partner_newsnowFiat Chrysler Progress
Sergio Marchionne, the CEO of Fiat Chrysler (NYSE:FCAU), has successfully re-built the company based on a brand strategy.
As my article "Why Fiat Chrysler is a good investment for 2015" pointed out, sales have been vibrant in North America and elsewhere. As an example, sales of Jeep in the USA rose 41% last year, while Maserati rose 169%. After selling 4.6 billion vehicles worldwide in 2014, Fiat Chrysler is targeting 5 billion for 2015.
March 2015 figures showed Fiat Chrysler enjoying its 60th consecutive month of sales gains in the USA. Some of the brand highlights were Jeep Patriot up 41%, Jeep Cherokee up 38% and Chrysler 200 up 155%. The month ended with a healthy 73 days supply of inventory, down from 85 days the previous month.
The Alfa Romeo Brand
Marchionne's strategy has been to focus on brand equity, which has led to the huge success of Maserati and the planned IPO this year of the legendary Ferrari marque. The final piece in the jigsaw for Marchionne is Alfa Romeo, the iconic and slightly quirky brand which used to exemplify everything that is stylish and imaginative about Italian design.
Industrial anarchy and strong union power, allied to quality problems, devastated the brand in the 1970's and 1980's and it has never quite recovered. To resurrect it now would be the greatest triumph for Marchionne and give FCAU the full pack of cards it needs to compete on a global scale. Given his success so far few would bet against him.
Marchionne has previously taken on the unions in Italy, and there seems now to be a grudging respect between what were previously warring parties. A new scheme has just been introduced by Marchionne covering all Italian factories under which workers stand to gain substantial financial benefits for increases in productivity.
The announcement in April that the new Alfa engines are to be built in Italy is a sign that Marchionne has got the concessions he needs to re-build Alfa as a stylish Italian brand in Italy. The company is planning to invest 5 billion euros to achieve this. Marchionne wants to recreate the glamour and style that used to be associated with the Alfa name.
Last year Marchionne was quoted as saying, "Alfa Romeos have to be produced in Italy with an Italian power-train. Some things belong to a place. Alfa belongs to Italy. As Ferrari and Maserati do." Whether the historic niche Lancia brand will be continued has not been formally addressed by the company.
