The Italian car maker is modelling itself on Apple and hopes the new version of its Fiat 500 model will mirror the success of the iPod music player.
MILAN: Italian car maker Fiat is modelling itself on fashionable technology group Apple and hopes the new version of its classic Fiat 500 model will mirror the success of the iPod music player, the Fiat chief executive was quoted as saying in a news report on Tuesday.
The new Fiat 500 is to be unveiled later on Wednesday at a glitzy launch party in Turin, the hometown of the company, with a number of Italian celebrities expected to attend.
"I want Fiat to become the Apple of the car world and the 500 to be our iPod," chief executive Sergio Marchionne told daily La Stampa.
"Everyone thought we were dead ... we survived, now the dream is different: to become the best. Not in everything, it's impossible, but on certain points.
"Our competitors are complex, rigid and are weighed down by procedures. Let's hope that continues.
"We on the contrary are becoming rapid and are making things easier (for consumers), like Apple.
For a recent Fiat commercial, he said, he had been "inspired by (Apple's) slogan 'Think Different'," he added.
Marchionne, who said he wrote the commercial and selected the publicity photos for the Fiat 500, insists on the links between the iconic car and history of Italy.
The new Fiat 500 will be modelled on the rounded bubble-like design of the original 1950s "cinquecento" (500 in Italian), of which 4 million models have been sold since its launch exactly 50 years ago.
The Italian motoring giant hopes to make the car a trendy, young vehicle with a cult following, like its predecessor.
It builds on the success of previous "nostalgia" cars -- new versions of previous classics.
BMW has had huge success with a new version of the Mini and Volkswagen still enjoys acclaim for its new Beetle model.
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