FCA Germany AG closed the month of May with a 5.7 percent market share in car registrations for the group. Abarth, Alfa Romeo, Fiat and Jeep® vehicles most recently achieved a higher market share in Germany in April 2009, the year of the scrappage bonus.
Fiat Professional, the commercial vehicle division of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, also achieved an outstanding monthly result with a market share of 25.3 percent (according to the FCA market definition including motorhomes and commercial vehicles registered as cars). Almost 6500 Fiat Ducato-based motorhomes were registered in Germany last month, supplemented by another 1,000 light commercial vehicles that are included in the KBA statistics. Fiat Professional thus increased by 11 percent, while the relevant market for light commercial vehicles ended May in Germany with a decrease of 45 percent.
One of the success factors was the “di più” marketing and sales program launched on the first day of the restart, which among other things enables customers to buy a stock vehicle or an already registered vehicle today or alternatively to place a new order, and only in January Pay the first installment in 2021. “We are happy to offer the customer a maximum of certainty that he only has to pay the first installment for his Abarth, Alfa Romeo, Fiat or Jeep when the climax of the COVID19 emergency has been overcome and everyday life is returning to normal. And that together with a strong dealer network, its owners, managing directors, service consultants and sellers, ”says Maria Grazia Davino, CEO of FCA Germany. FCA Germany AG was on April 20, 2020, the day of the reopening of trading.
Safety and speed were the focus from the first day of the “lockdown” in Germany. Immediately after the announcement of restrictions in private and public life, FCA Germany’s trading partners for sales and service and after-sales were promised to secure liquidity with targeted measures and dealt with as many concerns as possible in this difficult phase to take. Maria Grazia Davino: “We work closely with our trading partners in a spirit of trust and work together step by step to cope with this extraordinary situation. Even if the general problems are not getting any less, I am all the more pleased that we have achieved this result together.”
In recent weeks, FCA Germany AG has also gradually expanded its digital offering. On the websites of the individual brands, for example, the “digital showroom” area was integrated into the online presence, in which product managers explain the vehicles in detailed videos. If the customer is subsequently interested in personal advice from a seller, they can do so via Google Hangouts.
In addition to the advancing digitalization of automotive retail, there has been another trend in recent weeks that should solidify. Instead of using public transport, younger people in particular are increasingly considering purchasing vehicles. This trend offers opportunities especially for models from the Fiat brand that are characterized by affordable mobility: the Fiat Panda, the Fiat 500 and the Fiat Tipo.
