Alfa to share platforms, dealerships with Jaguar?
Now that Jaguar’s sale to Tata is as good as a done deal, it has been revealed that Fiat could team with Jaguar to produce premium rear-wheel drive vehicles for its Alfa Romeo brand and possibly even share some of the same dealerships — easing the Italian automaker’s re-entry into the U.S. market.
“I think I would be more than pleased to collaborate with Tata in terms of Jaguar/ Range Rover, if in fact it ends up being owned by them,” Sergio Marchionne, Fiat’s chief executive, told the Financial Times.
Fiat already has close ties with Tata — the Indian automaker purchasing Jaguar and Land Rover from Ford — as the two companies currently produce cars, engines and transmissions together in India. Tata head Ratan Tata also sits on Fiat’s board.
The possible deal could also see Fiat using Jaguar and Land Rover dealerships for U.S. distribution, which would eliminate Fiat’s need to start a dealer network from Scratch.
Fiat is also entertaining the idea of teaming with one of the Big Three U.S. automakers.
However, just as Chrysler has learned, it’s not always a smart move to sell redundant vehicles under one roof.
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