NF500 / fiat

Those clever bods with calculators (or crystal balls, or both) who predict future used car prices for the motor trade have altered and improved their estimations on the value of the Fiat 500 in three years.

The predicted residual values on some 500 models have increased from 42 per cent to 46 per cent of original list price. That equates to a positive adjustment of more than £350 on the car’s value on a typical three year/30,000 mile contract. For buyers funding the car through contract hire or personal contract purchase (PCP) that should reduce rentals by more than £20 per month.

As is often the case in the motor trade, the entry level model, the Fiat 500 1.2 Pop is rated as having the best residual value at 47 per cent after three years.

The residual value guides have reacted positively to the success of the 500 and have increased their used predictions accordingly. This is good news for those who have already bought one and it should help reduce monthly costs,

says Adam Pumfrey, fleet and remarketing director, Fiat Group Automobiles UK.

The 500 has also generated a great deal of interest from small and medium sized companies for test drives as it offers drivers a high profile company car that is low on fuel use and CO2 emissions.

You may remember a while back a Tracey Emin Fiat 500 went under the hammer for charity and sold for £42,000.

Well, despite recent tales of doom and gloom surrounding the economy in the media recently, her latest Fiat 500 to go up for auction, this time a little number titled “Dark, Dark, Dark”, sold for an incredible £200,000.

Absolute Return for Kids charity (ARK) raised £25 million for children at a gala reception in the Royal Naval College, Greenwich last week, with an auction in which this one off Fiat 500 was included.

Thanks (once again) to top news spotter KevinB for finding out the sale details.

Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne has reaffirmed the company’s desire to launch the Fiat 500 brand in the United States. However, and in contradiction to quotes from the Fiat CEO published by Forbes only a matter of weeks ago, Marchionne stated his desire to introduce a second Fiat 500 production site in the USA.

The full quote, taken on the sidelines of a foreign policy forum in Venice, reads

We are examining ways and means to manufacture the cars in the United States, I don’t want to bring it over made. I want to manufacture [in the North American free-trade area]

You have to feel a little pity for any American eagerly awaiting the Fiat 500, the situation gets more confusing with every turn.

According to a report by AM-online, Fiat in the UK will have 12 specialist Abarth dealerships in the UK by July 2008, of a total of 14 planned outlets for the Fiat family’s sporting brand.

Apparently some Abarth dealerships will have their own stand alone sites alongside or near to current Fiat franchises, while others will have an Abarth zone integrated into their current showroom space.

In the AM-online article they also reveal it will cost existing Fiat dealers anything from £40-£80,000 to become an Abarth franchise, which that investment potentially being repaid within a year.

Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne has once again stressed his desire to relaunch the Fiat brand, and the Cinquecento in particular, in the USA; if only they could find a way to sell it.

Apparently Fiat are seriously considering following in the footsteps of Smart by teaming up with a dealer network with a strong US base to distribute the 500 in America. This would ideally lead to an established and trusted brand stateside offering a foot in the door for Fiat, who haven’t had their own dealer presence there for 25 years.

In an article published on Just-Auto.com, Marchionne is quoted as saying

I am convinced that the full range of the Cinquecento would be a huge smash in the US if we do it right…. I think the full Cinquecento product range is a brand within a brand and can probably carry the market - we’re looking real hard at this now.

Fiat representatives have been quoted in the past as wanting to emulate the success of the MINI Cooper stateside, however MINI had the distinct advantage of a ready and willing BMW dealer network who put not an inconsiderable investment into making the brand a success, with the aid of some very clever marketing. It will be interesting to see how Fiat can make waves to the same degree without a strong parent company to piggy back on.

Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne has been quoted by Forbes as confirming orders for the new Fiat 500 have exceeded 204,000 vehicles. He also is quoted as saying there are no plans to further increase production beyond the current 190,000 vehicles per year output, or to introduce a second production site.

As an aside, Mr Marchionne also reaffirmed that the convertible Fiat 500 is heading for production in 2009.

…and it’s going to be a soft top too!

That’s according to a report published today in Just-Auto.com.

Roberto Giolito, styling director for the Fiat brand, reportedly informed a just-auto reporter that the convertible variant of the new Fiat 500 was definitely going to be produced and that the design would be simple, affordable and “aimed at bringing maximum customer enjoyment”.

The Fiat 500 Convertible will sport a traditional fabric roof, as opposed to joining the hordes of overly fussy and in our opinion downright ugly “coupe convertibles” which seem to have flooded the convertible market over the past few years.

Fiat are confident that progresses in the technology of fabric roofs means a space-saving fabric folding roof can offer excellent insulation against the elements and exterior noise. We certainly welcome this decision and cant wait to see what the designers come up with.