Happy New Year blog-followers! Hope you had a good break. By the lack of activity over the festive period, you can gauge that I did. So back to business. At the previously mentioned Fiat Panda launch, boss Sergio Marchionne was asked about plans for Alfa Romeo and Jeep, now part of the wider Fiat Group portfolio. He replied that both have international appeal, but that “Jeep is the only brand I don’t have to explain to anyone”. That’s because everyone knows what Jeep is and what it stands for – authentic off-roading, aggressive styling, etc, etc. Marchionne then went on to raise the prospect of a B-segment Jeep, which is a fascinating thought. It would be smaller than anything the firm has done before – the Compass (pictured) and Patriot are C-sector – and a way of tapping into the trend for downsizing. My problem with the idea is two-fold. Firstly, Marchionne needs to get the C-segment sorted first because both vehicles were sales flops in Europe. Second, how do you make an authentic B-segment Jeep? The brand has always been about having that go-anywhere appeal. Design a small off-roader with the necessary technology and it will too expensive to compete with class rivals, but build one that can’t scale rocky crevaces and people will shun it because it’s not a proper Jeep. Tricky situation.
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