FIAT ENJOYS a 25.9 per cent market share in Brazil, which more than offsets a 12 per cent slump in sales in Italy, its largest market.
That means one out of four cars sold there is a Fiat, making them the leading player in the market ahead of Volkswagen and General Motors.
Part of this success is due to the fact that Fiat produces cars in Brazil for the domestic market and that they were at the forefront of the introduction of Flex Fuel technology to the market. Fiat produced the first Flex Fuel model which can run on alcohol, petrol or any mix of the two. This system requires some hardware and software changes but works seamlessly. It has now expanded its line-up with the introduction of a Tetrafuel engine which runs on pure alcohol, E20 petrol, E0 petrol or CNG (compressed natural gas).
In March of 2008, 86 per cent of the total sales of light vehicles in Brazil were Flex models and this year, the Flex Fuel vehicle fleet surpassed the five million boundary, with Fiat producing almost 1.2 million of these. Ninety-nine per cent of the vehicles produced by Fiat in Brazil are Flex models.
There are no plans as yet to introduce these cars into our markets.
Our high volume of E85 stations for our small state and the potential savings these cars can offer might give Fiat in Ireland the boost in sales it so dearly needs.