Student name: ________________________________ Student ID _______________________ York University Faculty of Liberal Arts and Professional Studies School of Administrative Studies AP/ADMS 4250 Marketing Strategy, Fall 2013 Instructor: A. Rusetski, Ph.D.

EXAM 1: Case

AP/ADMS 4250 Marketing Strategy

Exam 1

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FIAT RETURNS TO CANADA1
A.RUSETSKI, PH.D

F IGURE 1: A 2011 FIAT 500

On March 18, 2011 two hundred strange looking tiny cars lined up on the streets around the Quebec Business Centre. FIAT, a major European car manufacturer, was celebrating its return to Canada after 28 years of absence. This comeback became possible thanks to a partnership with one of the …show more content…

in 1909, but by mid 1970s a slew of unreliable, fast rusting models brought the reputation of the brand in America and Canada to the all‐time low: it was suggested that the brand name stood for “Fix It Again Tony”. FIAT pulled out of the North American market in 1983. The quality of FIAT cars improved substantially after massive restructuring in early 2000s. At the same time, small and fuel efficient cars started to gain popularity in North America. The global financial crisis of 2008‐2010 reduced consumers’ disposable incomes and with growing gasoline prices large, comfortable but thirsty and expensive cars and SUVs were not as attractive as they used to be. American Big Three car manufacturers (General Motors, Ford, and Chrysler) scrambled to design and bring to customers smaller cars, but in North America the sub compact car segment has been traditionally dominated by Japanese manufacturers. For American car companies decades of the focus on larger family cars resulted in the lack of design culture and experience needed to successfully develop sub compact cars. While Ford and GM could rely on the experience and proven car platforms of their European and South Korean subsidiaries, Chrysler didn’t have such luxury. Therefore, the AP/ADMS 4250 Marketing Strategy Exam 1 Page 3 of 7

partnership with FIAT appeared to be extremely beneficial for both