Cars and Drivers

No One Wants the Fiat 500

Douglas A. McIntyre

Published: May 2, 2016 6:34 am

Last Updated: January 13, 2020 10:01 am

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles N.V. (NYSE: FCAU) can barely sell the Fiat 500 family of cars. Based on “days to turn” and horrible ratings, signs point to these as permanent products, at least for the near term.

The most recent damning piece of research about Fiat comes from the Consumer Reports car brand ratings. Among the 31 brands measure, Fiat came in last. Its “predicted reliability” ranked “worst,” and Consumer Reports did not recommend any of its models. Fiat also ranked at the bottom of all brands in the J.D. Power 2015 U.S. Initial Quality Study.

Fiat sales dropped 18% in the first quarter to 9,009. The number was bolstered by the new Fiat 500X, which sold 3,964, against zero in the same period last year.

In the recent 24/7 Wall St. survey “Cars Americans Don’t Want to Buy,” among the 15 individual cars that had the longest days to turn, Fiat has two of the slots.

The authors of the article reported:

500L
> Make: Fiat
> Avg. days to turn: 145.0
> 2014-2015 sales change: -36.7%
> Starting MSRP: $19,345

Both the Fiat 500 and 500L models are among the slowest selling cars in America. Sales of the Fiat 500L are down 58% year-to-date and take an average of 145 days to complete. While the recently introduced 500X was quick to attract buyers, Fiat remains the worst performing brand in Fiat Chrysler Automobiles’ lineup.

Also:

500
> Make: Fiat
> Avg. days to turn: 138.0
> 2014-2015 sales change: -25.6%
> Starting MSRP: $17,900

Chrysler’s Fiat brand has seen better days. The brand is struggling with declining sales even as the auto industry as a whole continues to report record sales. Year-to-date, Fiat U.S. sales dropped by more than 50% from the same time last year. Sales of the Fiat 500, the brand’s flagship car, fell by 25.6% from 2014 to 2015. Sales of the model have continued to fall this year, dropping by 50% year to date through the first three months of the year.

That put the 500 as the 10th worst car on the list of 15 and the 500L at fifth.

Methodology: To determine America’s slowest-selling cars, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed days to turn figures provided by Kelley Blue Book’s vehicle research and valuation site. This figure measures the average number of days a particular model spent on dealers’ lots following its arrival until it was sold in 2015. Additionally, Kelley Blue Book provided figures on U.S. sales by model for 2013, 2014 and 2015. We also reviewed monthly sales releases published by auto manufacturers. Manufacturer’s suggested retail price (MSRP) figures come from the manufacturers’ websites.