After several years of losses, Fiat SpA set - and met - a net income target of $2.6 billion for 2007. Its European sales climbed back to more than a million (1,010,000), an 8.1% increase over the 934,000 sold in 2006.

The Fiat Group owns the Abarth; Alfa Romeo; Ferrari; Fiat; Lancia; Maserati, and "Fiat Professional" brands.

Fiat has also usurped Auburn Hills-based Chrysler, giving it control over the Chrysler, Dodge, and Jeep brands, in addition to the newly-created "RAM" brand and defunct Plymouth.

Fiat Group, which has a 20% stake in Chrysler, has said that it will raise its stake to 35% by allowing Chrysler to gradually build up its use of the Italian company's small car and small engine technology. This will be done in three separate 5-percentage-point increments.


Ferrari says that it weathered the economic crisis of 2009 with sales of 6,250 cars, only 5% down on 2008. The company reports that while the luxury sports car market collapsed by 35% in '09, Ferrari's market share to 10%, making it the leading manufacturer in the segment.

The Italian company says it is also set to invest 18.5% of its revenues in new products, a very high proportion for the car industry.

Ferrari made an operating profit of 245 million euros, down from 2008's record 341 million euros, a return on sales of 13.8%. Profits were hit by the weakness of the U.S. dollar.

Ferrari sold 1,467 cars in North America in 2009, down 200. European sales hit 2,752 units, down 6%. Italy (655 cars) and Germany (644 cars) are Ferrari's buggest EU markets. Asia Pacific markets took 1,117 cars. 60% of Ferrari California customers are claimed to be new to the brand.

Ferrari's branding and merchandising operations are also booming, with retail sales up 22.5%, mostly thanks, it says, to the opening of the Ferrari retail store in Regent Street, London.


Lancia's European range will be extended by 4 models for in 2011, with rebadged versions of Chrysler's Sebring sedan and convertible; the Chrysler 300, and the Chrysler Town & Country.


In response to the economic crisis, Fiat Group CEO Sergio Marchionne imposed a spending freeze from October 2008 to December 2009, delaying the 3^rd-generation Fiat Panda (by two years), the Alfa Romeo Giulietta, and the 3^rd-generation Lancia Ypsilon. Launching any major new models in 2009, in the midst of the global financial downturn, would have been a "waste," he said.

"I think we intelligently postponed a number of our programs to make sure that it coincided with what I consider to be a structural recovery in demand in 2011 and later years."

Fiat's investment in 2009 was 32% lower than the 4.97 billion euros it spent in 2008.


The installation of Sergio Marchionne at the top of the Fiat Group brings forth not only a resurgence in Fiat passenger cars, but in commercial vehicles.

Fiat sells 2,114,000 vehicles in Europe in 2006, 369,000 of which are light-commercial vehicles which account for an 11% share of the European market.

On April 17^th, 2007, Fiat launches its new Fiat Professional outfit (fiatprofessional.com/), which sits laterally in the group next to Fiat; Lancia, and Alfa Romeo.

At launch, the brand covers the Doblo Cargo; Ducato; Grande Punto Van; Idea Van; Multipla Van; Panda Van; Seicento Van; Scudo; Stilo Van; Strada, and Ulysse Van models.

The entire light-commercial fleet has been renewed in just fifteen months, with the Ducato and Scudo all-new for 2007.