Real-time answers are important to attracting younger buyers, which is a key goal of the redesigned site, said Luca De Meo, Fiat Automobiles CEO. “Younger consumers chat daily with their computers and mobile phones. Thus we decided the old system of posting a question by mail and getting an answer days later just would not have worked for them,” De Meo said.
Fiat spent about GBP 2 million on Fiat Lab, equal to the budget for two weeks of TV ads in the UK, De Meo said. If the UK site is a success, Fiat could spread the Web design throughout Europe.
The new Bravo goes on sale in the UK this Saturday, with prices ranging from GBP 10,995 to GBP 15,495. Fiat Auto UK managing director Giulio Salomone expects Bravo sales to be around 6,000 units this year before rising to some 12,000 in 2008.
In Poland, the Bravo first went on sale in March, and Fiat sold a total of 515 units through May. In May alone, the Bravo found 324 buyers here.
