Fiat Tries Again in the U.S.

Italian food is the most popular type of restaurant cuisine in America. As Fiat has learned over the past year, that’s not the case with Italian cars. U.S. sales of the Turin-based automaker’s tiny 500 subcompact have been disappointing—about half the company’s targets—since Fiat’s return to the North American market last spring following a 30-year hiatus. “We thought we were going to show up and just because of the fact people like gelato and pasta, people will buy it,” says Chief Executive Officer Sergio Marchionne. “This is nonsense.”

Now the carmaker, which also is majority owner of Chrysler Group, says it needs more models to crack the American market. It’s expanding Fiat’s U.S. lineup to include the 500L, a five-door model shown at the Geneva Motor Show on March 6 that will hit American dealerships next year, says Olivier Francois, head of the Fiat brand.