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New Fiat Compact Models Slated for 2016 Thanks to $1 Billion Investment

Remember the gawky Fiat Bravo? Recently phased out in Europe but still built in Brazil, this model was a bad excuse for a C-segment hatch. Furthermore, the undesirable Bravo even acted as the base for the Lancia Delta, which also ended production.
2011 Fiat Bravo 1 photo
Photo: Fiat
With Lancia in limbo, only the Fiat brand can do something to wash this shameful episode in its 115-year long existence. During the Fiat-Chrysler Investor Day in May, Sergio Marchionne hinted something had to be done with the model lineup because the 500 family alone can’t make Fiat S.p.A. go any further.

After that announcement followed utter silence, but a recent report published by AutomotiveNews Europe informs that a $1 billion investment will be made in the near future. That money will go into the research and development of a brand new family of compact cars slated to hit showrooms in 2016. But the funny thing is that this time around, those vehicles won’t be assembled in Italy, but Turkey.

Insider sources told the aforementioned publication that Fiat Tofas is going to handle production, with an estimated $520 million to be invested in building 580,000 units of the Linea’s successor. The remaining $480 million are said to go into producing 700,000 next-gen Bravos and Stilo MultiWagons.

According to the insiders, the future Fiat Bravo, Linea sedan and Stilo MultiWagon will share their platforms with the Fiat 500L, 500X and the Jeep Renegade. That basically means the 9-year-old Fiat Small platform is going to be adapted for the new models. We’re keeping our fingers crossed Fiat won’t mess this up because the company isn’t in a comfortable position and can’t afford to make another flop.
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About the author: Mircea Panait
Mircea Panait profile photo

After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well.
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