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Why Isn't the Fiat 124 Spider Selling Well In the US and Will It Turn Around?

The Fiat 124 Spider's sales are not where they should be. We examine the possible reasons.

If you think this story is intended as hit-piece on the Fiat 124 Spider, consider that its author is the founder of the Fiat 124 Spider Club. Also, if you think that there is no problem and that it is just the U.S. where sales are low, consider that Fiat sold 21 Spiders in February in Canada and that the Miata has been outselling the 124 Spider by 2 to 1 on the Spider's home turf in Europe.

Bad time for convertibles? Fiat 124 Spider vs Mazda Miata

One might think that winter is a terrible time for convertible sales, and there is sound logic to that thinking, but in the U.S., Mazda Miata sold 2,037 in January and February of 2017. Up 54% over the same period a year ago. Fiat sold just 542 Spiders in those two months. With the better looks, higher power, and similar prices, why did the Fiat's sales come in so far under Mazda's? Our first guess was "production limitations." Normally, automakers are quite happy to use this as an excuse for low sales. Tesla has made it an art. We reached out to some of our industry contacts at both Mazda and FCA US and could not get anyone to tell us Fiat's sales were limited in any way by Mazda's production schedule or Fiat's orders being limited. Nor could we find any indication of that in the press releases and other available information on the subject.

When the facts don't answer a question anecdotal evidence is sometimes helpful. We looked hard at the Fiat 124 Spider Club member notes for hints on this subject. We find mostly good news. The membership is very active, an aftermarket community selling bits for 124 Spiders is emerging and there are clubs making gatherings possible. On the other side of the coin, we read a comment by a member we will call SMT posted last week who said "So here I am with my husband in Italy. Twelve days, in Rome, Sorrento, Florence Perugia and a nice drive along the Amalfi Coast. I have not seen a single 124 on the roadways. What's going on? The weather has been nice." Where are the Spiders?

Fiat 124 Spider sales in Europe

So just how are sales in Europe? Surely the 124 Spider is doing better there. It is hard to prove that, though. For one, the market should be larger than the U.S. market, given Fiat's significantly larger footprint of dealerships compared to the U.S. The 125 Spider's legacy is also much stronger there than in America. Fiats have always been rare here, but in Italy they are common. From June to the end of 2016 Fiat sold 3,685 Spiders in Europe. By comparison, Mazda sold 7,224 Miatas in that period in that same market. (More on page 2)

A recent story by Steven Lang at The Drive asking if Fiat is a failing brand in the U.S. raised some hackles at the Facebook Fiat 124 Club. That shows a fanbase that is healthy, willing to defend its favorite car, and that wants to see the Fiat brand and the 124 succeed. But Steven is no hack. He has written for many of the largest publications and has decades of real-world automotive sales management under his belt. In fact, he singled out the 124 Spider as a bright spot among Fiat USA overall, and predicts it could survive as an Alfa model (which it was once considered for if my recollection is correct).

Regarding Fiat 124 Spider Promotions

Did Fiat drop the ball with regard to the 124 Spider in its promotions? As part of the link in that chain, I have to say definitively "No." FCA employs the top promotional people in the business to work with the media to get the 124 Spider's message out. Some other major brands have simply eliminated those jobs. In our relatively small New England Press fleet a Spider made the rounds and I read every story I could find on it. Without exception, the car was praised (despite being an automatic). Mazda brought two Spiders to the International Motor Press' Test days in New York last year, and remarkably, put the Abarth convertible on the track for testing. I drove it and my report was published as were many other stories about that car on that track. A quick read may dispel any doubts about my being a fan of this car.

There is no direct evidence that Mazda is limiting the sales of the 124 Spider and tiny Mazda is crushing it with Miata sales. The Miata frequently outsells not just the Boxter/Cayman, bet every Porsche model in the U.S. market. This despite the ND MX-5 having less power than the outgoing model, and for its first year of sales having no hardtop version.

Something is amiss with the Fiat sales model. We don't blame the car. We don't blame the folks at Mazda, and we certainly don't blame any lack of fan and owner enthusiasm. What does that leave as a cause for a car that seems to be selling at about half its potential in the USA, Canada, and isn't exactly making headlines in Europe for its sales numbers?

Comments

Bryant MacDonald (not verified)    June 29, 2018 - 1:27PM

I was looking to buy one or the Mazda. I ended up purchasing a great used Miata for a great price and haven't looked back. Living in Socal helped as there are plenty of well kept used Miatas, many with some nice upgrades. This is what I have noticed. First, you are dealing with the unknown reliability of the Fiat turbo engine and the generally poor reputation of Fiat. Second, you have Fiat dealerships vanishing or being folded into Chrysler dealerships who have little knowledge of the car which does not bode well for future service. On one occasion I went to the Fiat dealership and while there was a single 124 there (the special azure blue with automatic selling for $45,000!) no people were present except for a security guard who told me to go across the street to the Chrysler dealer.Third, when I was able to find one in stock it usually was an automatic classic with the tech package and always black or grey. Never even saw an Abarth and one of the salespeople never even heard of the Abarth but said it sounded "cool". Yeah whatever. And this is Socal where not having a convertible is practically a misdemeanor or at least should be. Mazda dealerships are plentiful and while they are heavy on automatics, about a 50/50 split, they have plenty of cars in stock, know the product and will be around next week. Its a miracle they are selling any of these cars. By the way, I owned a 1972 Fiat 124 and loved it. She was reliable but demanded above average care and attention like any gorgeous Italian.

Michael Fisher (not verified)    October 17, 2018 - 8:41PM

If you don't advertise, NO ONE knows you have a product to sell. GET WITH IT FCA! The Spider is an AWESOME car! No one will buy one if they don't know they exist!!!
Hello!!!!!!!!!!!!

Stephen (not verified)    December 11, 2018 - 1:35AM

In reply to by Michael Fisher (not verified)

Michael, I completely agree. I have not seen one TV or magazine anywhere. . I live inSan Diego, perfect place for a convertible, and have not seen 1 on the street. I’d like to replace my Prius. Maybe instead of a dealer, I’ll try Costco’s auto buying service.

Matt (not verified)    December 22, 2018 - 1:54PM

I live in Miami, the automobile capital of South Florida and i’ve only seen one of these 124 Spiders. I’ve seen more Bentleys. I like being an car snob - except when you need service. ... anyway, it’s a second car for most everybody so I guess waiting two weeks for a part that most cars can get from Autozone is not a deal-breaker. The 124s also look better than the Miata.

Tony Munro (not verified)    June 30, 2019 - 4:51PM

I can tell you why! first, they do not have the expert mechanic needed to take care of fiats-they rely on dodge and chrysler mechanics, second, most of their accessories has to be purchase in a package-who ever heard of a car nowadays with no autolink rearview mirror,third, lack of storage space and I can go on.......
I hope they correct these issues and have better marketing.

Stephen (not verified)    August 22, 2019 - 5:02AM

I know that this is an older post. It is 2019. I do disagree with the author regarding advertising. I didn’t know this car existed. I never saw a TV or magazine ad for this car EVER. That is a big problem. I just saw one by chance in my neighborhood. When I started researching them locally, all the dealers had auto trans only. The new head of Fiat announced that they are now only going to focus on variants off the 500. No more sports cars. I live in San Diego, and there is perfect weather for convertibles to thrive year round.

Robert Soto (not verified)    October 8, 2019 - 4:55PM

I have been looking at purchasing a Miata MX-5, but after looking at the Fiat Spider 124, I'm confused now. I have always heard that Fiat was not very reliable! Has that changed? Also, what is the negative in buying one with the 6-speed automatic transmission versus the standard?

Saffron Blaze (not verified)    November 18, 2019 - 3:04PM

I bought my daughter a Fiat 124, and at 6', I am truly maxxed out in the car. She's almost 5'11" and she puts the seat all the way back.

In the US population, about 14.5 percent of all men are six feet or over. Even more strikingly, 3.9 percent are 6'2" or taller. For women over 6' it is close to 1%. That means at least 15,000,000 people would question the practicality and comfort of getting the 124. That's leaving an awful lot on the table. Adding just 1 inch to the "leg room" would then include 10,000,000 additional potential owners.

John on Long Island (not verified)    March 27, 2020 - 7:21AM

Its March 2020, I'm a lifelong Alfa Romeo owner (5) and I've been trying to buy a 124 Abarth since they were introduced. While the Miata may very well be the Best British Roadster ever built, it does have an unfortunate reputation as a girl's car. Enter the new Fiat 124, all the goodness of the Miata and much more muscular, a man's car. Now that it has been cancelled by Fiat, I'll tell you why it had such low sales. Fiat and Dealer greed! The Abarth is perfect at an MSRP of $29K, a great value proposition but almost all inventory cars since 2018 are grossly over optioned. Its a great buy at $29K at $38K to $40K (most Abarths available), its totally unattractive. Pure greed killed this great little roadster.

Mario retired (not verified)    June 18, 2020 - 10:19PM

I have an Abarth automatic, black with a black/red interior. Waited over a year to find a color combination that I wanted. Like everything about the car. Having previously owned a Miata no expectations for huge storage or to haul a 6'4" 250 lb passenger. It really isn't a comfortable car for anybody over 6'. Great fun to drive and has sufficient performance for my needs. Sport mode does make the automatic much more enjoyable in the automatic. Haven't had a single problem in 9 nine months of ownership.

Adam (not verified)    February 25, 2021 - 5:02PM

My guess as to why as I am nearing the end of an exhaustive and long vehicle search.

Poorly written reviews mistranslated by consumers reviewing the vehicle. The car language of the average consumer is not the same as the average car journalist and the car journalists expect the consumer to learn and adapt to their vernacular. Most purchasers are not enthusiasts. AKA the review community does a bad job unless you count being pretentious as being a good job.

The turbo lag a normal factor of every turbo comes off as a Laggy small 4 cylinder engine in most review websites. Small 4 cylinder and Laggy american consumer moves on....compound that by translation software...

Automobile enthusiast writers write expecting their readers to use automotive language like they do. Causing translation errors in their audience.

For a specialty car that is a nuanced vehicle this makes things challenging for the consumer. And the miata is the known safe choice with no scarey negative words like "laggy" in its review. Not a good word in a sporty car review.

Combine that with limited sales and therefore visibility and limited marketing and it's hard for consumers to understand the cars actual performance.

Finding one to sit in is practically impossible so any miscommunication is disastrous.

Finally the marketing they did have went away from who the consumer of this car strikes me as most likely to be and at the consumer more likely to be happy without a LSD and with a normally aspirated engine and predictable stable torque. Fiat appears to have wanted to create a chick car to pair with what they thought of as a more guys car 500. Wrong choice if you are using the small turbo IMHO. They would have been better off dressing more cars with LSD and creating better price and finish variation in the better handling versions and made that their niche.

Likely getting one used if I can find an abarth in appropriate configuration. Only been able to sit in automatics so far however.