Fiat Chrysler Sharpens Focus On South African Market

The multinational carmaker is aiming to rapidly expand locally through restructuring, dealer consolidation and new vehicles.

- Glenda Williams

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) is the seventh-largest automaker in the world. But before the global merger of the Fiat and Chrysler businesses in 2014, Fiat was on the brink of failure and Chrysler was on the edge of collapse.

Nowadays it is a different story, with much of the turnaround in the group’s fortunes attributed to the late CEO of FCA, Sergio Marchionne. FCA’s 2018 third-quarter results show a year-on-year increase of 10 basis points in worldwide market share and a 2.7% increase in sales volumes. And Moody’s has recently raised its outlook on the group from positive to stable.

The Jeep brand has experienced a 67% year-on-year increase in European sales, the Fiat Panda 500 continues to dominate the region’s A-segment, and globally Alfa Romeo sales are up 7.6%.