NF500 / car maker

Rumours have begun circulating this week that the Fiat group may go a step further with the Abarth brand.

Rather than merely being a separate division of the Fiat group, producing hot versions of Fiat cars and being behind one make race series, Abarth could become a car maker in it’s own right.

The Abarth cars would share Fiat platforms and technology, but have their own unique sporty attitude and style, and the car to kick this all off could be a roadster, based on the new Fiat 500 platform.

These rumours have sprung from a conversation between motoring publication Caradisiac and Fiat Director Luca De Meo, where Mr De Meo apparently hinted that Abarth could create it’s own models and become a stand alone “halo” brand within the Fiat group, which was then picked up by AutoBlog and the rest of the World.

While the appeal of the Abarth name and it’s historic racing pedigree is clear, creating a new range of cars for the marque could be an expensive and risky process. Rumours suggest that if this were to happen the Abarths would most likely be sold by Fiat dealers, bringing customers into the showroom who would otherwise perhaps be disinterested in less sporty or dramatic Fiat offerings.

Fiat SpA’s share of the rapidly growing Italian market for new cars fell in July compared to June, as the revitalised automaker lost ground on European and U.S. competitors. This is according to figures from Italy’s Transport Ministry released this Wednesday.

In its monthly review of car data, the ministry said Fiat, Europe’s fifth-biggest car maker by volume, registered a total of 30.5% of all Italian new cars last month for all its mass-market car brands, including Alfa Romeo and Lancia. This is down from June’s 31.7% market share, but still a healthy 10.1% higher than the equivalent month of 2006.

These figures come as no surprise as Fiat’s own product range begins to mature and new models are brought to market by competing manufacturers.

Late in January the company, regarded as a specialist in small cars, launched the Bravo, its first major new model in 17 months. The Bravo is positioned in a segment of the market in which Fiat has struggled in the past.

July, of course, saw the launch of the new Fiat 500.

In a statement issued as a response to these latest figures, Fiat said on Wednesday they had received more than 60,000 orders for the new Fiat 500 in less than a month. The vast majority of these orders are from home market customers.

Overall, the number of new cars registered in Italy, overwhelmingly Fiat’s biggest market, rose in July to 211,475 from 192,083 in the same month a year earlier.

Sales of Fiat’s eponymous brand fell to 23.2% of all new cars registered in July from 24.1% a month earlier.