Fiat to invest EUR 9 billion in new models

Italian carmaker Fiat plans to invest as much as 9 billion euros in new models to end European losses in three years and revive nearly empty Italian factories.

In addition to bolstering the upscale Maserati and Alfa Romeo marques with new “Made in Italy” models, the carmaker will focus the Fiat line on variants of the trendy 500 subcompact and the budget-oriented Panda small car, the New York news agency Bloomberg reports.

Fiat will introduce 500 and Jeep sport-utility vehicles next year as well as a convertible version of the Alfa Romeo 4C sports car. Those cars will all be made in its home country. The new Alfa Romeo Giulia sedan, designed mainly for export outside Europe, will be built in Italy by 2016.

The Fiat Punto will be replaced by a five-door version of the 500. That mass-market model will be built in Poland to save costs and boost profit margins, Bloomberg cited sources from the company as saying.