Fiat to Launch Crossover Rival for Volkswagen Golf

In order to bring a serious rival for Volkswagen’s best-seller, the Golf model, Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne, intends to replace the Fiat Bravo compact hatchback with a new high-roof crossover based on the Nissan Qashqai. The new crossover from Fiat will probably make its debut somewhere in 2013, according to AutoWeek.

In 2007, the current Bravo and Qashqai models were first launched in Europe with each of the two models registering similar sales levels in the first year. But as time elapsed, the Qashqai surpassed the Italian model in sales numbers. According to JATO data, last year alone, the Japanese automaker sold 216,091 Qashqai models as compared to Fiat’s 44,850 units of Bravo.

The Japanese crossover was a complete success managing to outsell the popular Peugeot 308 in 2010 by 50,000 units. Bravo enjoyed its first year on the market in 2008 with a 95,292 sales figure, but deliveries decreased continuously ever since. According to JATA, in 2010, the Italian hatchback was sold in just 44,850 units making it drop in the rankings from number 12 to number 18.

When they first launched the Bravo, the Italian manufacturer had high hopes regarding sales levels, stating that they intend to sell at least 120,000 units per year and that the car is profitable for them as long as 75,000 units were sold each single year. Their objective was reached, but only in the first years as from late 2009 the Bravo was a complete sales disaster for the Italian automaker.

In winter, at Detroit, Marchionne said that Fiat's main concern is its compact segment strategy. "There's no obvious answer to that question, and I think that replication of a me-too vehicle in the compact segment for Fiat is totally inappropriate," Marchionne said in winter.