1. AutoNation to bid on ‘multiple' Fiat
franchises
Amy Wilson
Automotive News | September 2, 2010 - 10:46 am EST
UPDATED: 9/2/10 5:28 p.m. ET
AutoNation Inc. said today it plans to bid on "multiple" Fiat franchises after Chrysler unveiled its plans for the brand to
dealers at a meeting in Detroit on Monday.
COO Michael Maroone said he was impressed with the presentation. AutoNation, the nation's largest automotive retailer,
intends to seek multiple Fiat franchises, although it hasn't determined how many or where, he said.
“It is our plan to apply for a certain number of those,” Maroone said. “We went in (to the meeting) as skeptics and came
out feeling that Chrysler and Fiat had developed a very solid plan, and we're very interested in being a retailer for them.”
CEO Mike Jackson included AutoNation's plans for seeking Fiat in "talking points" distributed to the financial community
earlier today.
The Fiat 500 alone won't sustain separate Fiat operations, Maroone said.
“You'd need multiple models; you need good product cadence, which they did discuss with the dealers, and we were
satisfied with the product cadence they have,” Maroone said.
“But certainly you can't build a stand-alone facility and staff it and create a culture just based on one model. Although the
car was very cool. I was impressed.”
Chrysler also talked about Alfa Romeo.
“There's a commitment to bring Alfa Romeo to the United States, and the people that are able to obtain these Fiat
franchises will not only have multiple products in the Fiat line, but they'll also have first opportunity at the Alfa franchises,
assuming they perform,” Maroone said.
“So it's not a guarantee, but I think they're looking to leverage that Fiat network with Alfa. That's very desirable from a
retailer's point of view.”
Free-standing showrooms
Chrysler is asking for free-standing showrooms “of a reasonable size,” Maroone said. They're not huge showrooms and
there would be requirements to build a service operation, but not necessarily initially, he added.
“There's an understanding that there will be a re-entry of Italian cars in the United States,” he said. “They're looking to
create a separate culture in the stores and have a unique retail experience.”
AutoNation's intention would be initially to locate any Fiat franchise next to an existing store that has a service
department, Maroone said, or into an already existing but vacated dealership property.
Chrysler Group's preference is that Fiat would be located with existing Chrysler brand stores, he said.
Chrysler later this month will accept applications from dealers that want to participate in the return of the Italian-made car
to the U.S. market for the first time in nearly three decades. The automaker expects to pick the winning dealers in
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