Not many know of it here, but Nissan has pulled off a masterstroke by introducing the Qashqai (called Dualis in Japan) in 2007. The C-segment family hatch market is not a friendly place for those trying to snatch sales from the Golf and Focus, even more so for a Japanese brand.

So instead of taking the market head on, they made an SUV styled car to offer something different, and it has paid off handsomely. The British made Qashqai is the fifth best selling C-segment car in Europe, behind only to the Golf, Focus, Astra and Megane, which all have more bodystyles. A Nissan that sells more than the equivalent Peugeot, Skoda and Fiat in Europe? Wouldn’t have dreamt that with the Almera for sure!

Now comes the news that Fiat will be using the same strategy for their next C-segment car. Group CEO Sergio Marchionne wants them to replace the pretty but slow selling Bravo with an all-new high-roof crossover inspired by the Qashqai. Marchionne first hinted at this in Detroit early this year, and the decision was finalised late last month, according to Automotive News Europe. Sources said that this car will appear in 2013.

Actually, the Bravo vs Qashqai comparison is apt. Both cars came into the market in 2007, with the Fiat having sexy good looks and home territory advantage. But the taller riding car outsells the Italian one by 5-to-1. Sales of the Bravo have been slipping badly. Only 44,850 units found new homes in 2010, which is less than what the Skoda Yeti, a niche product, managed.

Fiat’s original aim was to sell at least 120,000 Bravos a year. The company said the car would make a profit as long as 75,000 units were sold a year. That target was hit in 2007 and 2008, but never since.

Will this “crossover strategy” work for Fiat? Nothing’s certain, but it’s surely a better bet than taking on the giants in a straight fight!

This is yet another new Fiat-Chrysler collaboration – the Fiat Freemont is a tough-looking crossover 7-seater vehicle for the European market, based on the Dodge Journey but with an updated fascia and tighter suspension settings to suit European driver preferences.

The Dodge Journey that this Fiat Freemont was based on was just unveiled in November last year at the LA auto show. The Fiat Freemont will make its public debut at the Geneva show this year. The Freemont will replace the Fiat Ulysee, and frankly it really looks so much more appealing than the PSA-Fiat collaboration Eurovan-derived Fiat Ulysee.

The people mover will be front wheel drive, and will initially be offered in Europe with two variations of Fiat’s 2.0 litre MultiJet diesel making 140 horses and 170 horses respectively. A 3.6 litre Chrysler Pentastar petrol V6 will be offered later with all-wheel drive.

The Freemont will be imported into Europe from the Toluca Car Assembly plant in Mexico, where both the Freemont and the Journey is built.

So you have a Fiat Abarth 500, all 135 hp of it from the stock 1.4 litre T-Jet four-cylinder pot. Pacy enough, but not fast. You want quick. Well, does 212 hp sound like it’d be fast enough then?

Tuning specialist Novitec is offering just that with its NT4-Corse power kit, which boosts power output of the standard turbocharged block to 212 hp and upping the torque from 206 Nm to 325 Nm at 3,400 rpm, in the process offering the souped-up 500 a 6.8 seconds 0-100 kph sprint time as well as a 223 kph top speed.

The NT4-Corse kit (which goes for 3,016 euros) consists of a special turbocharger, a more efficient fresh air supply, an optimised air-cleaner box with sport air-filter cartridge as well as a Novitec Corse high performance exhaust system, larger injection nozzles and a special fuel pressure control. Additionally, the engine electronics are upgraded with the Novitec Powerjet 2 auxiliary control unit.

That’s not all you can do with the 500. A host of other items are available, starting with an upgraded suspension – take your pick from Novitec sport springs, which lower the ride height by some 35 millimeters, or a height-adjustable sport suspension made from stainless steel, which includes stiffer gas-pressure shocks.

There are wheels as well – custom-tailored one-piece Novitec N10 light alloy wheels in 17- or 18-inch diameters, and the eight double-spoke design wheel is available in silver polished or matte black painted versions.

Also in the mix is a Novitec front spoiler lip made of carbon-fibre, which attaches to the underside of the standard front fascia, and black-tinted lateral turn signals.

Gallery after the jump.
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There’s certainly keen interest in Fiat over in the US as the company moves closer to its much-anticipated market return there in December. A limited-edition Fiat 500 model, called the Prima Edizione (First Edition, to give it its suffix in English) sold out in no time after the 500 unit run was announced in July.

Last week, one of these select Cinquecentos was auctioned off for US$69,000 at the National Italian American Foundation 35th Anniversary Gala, with the proceeds from the auction going to the NIAF’s education and scholarship program. It’s easily the most expensive Cinquecento around (costing more than something like a BMW 550i XDrive, mind you), but all for a good cause, in this case.

The Fiat 500 Prima Edizione, which comes in three colours – Bianco (White), Rosso (Red) and Grigio (Gray) – are all manual transmission versions and will each feature a sequential VIN and Prima Edizione badge according to production order.

In related news, Chrysler last week began selecting its Fiat dealers, announcing that it wants dealers in 119 markets in the US and will name more by year’s end. The US dealers will be ready to take orders for the Fiat 500, which the company is hoping to move 50,000 units of in the first year. Alfa Romeo is expected to join this particular renaissance in 2012.

Resurrecting plans for production after they were frozen in 2009 due to the global recession, Fiat is set to build its L0 five-seat mini-MPV, effectively the replacement for the current Fiat Idea, at its factory in Kragujevac, Serbia.

The vehicle will sit on a Fiat 500 platform, but which is longer and wider than that of the two-door compact. You could of course call it a 500 with a tail, as the impression suggests. The current Idea, as well as the Lancia Musa, is underpinned by a chassis used in the second-generation Punto.

Fiat Automobili Srbija, which in the past was where state-owned automaker Zastava assembled Yugos, will build the five-seat MPV for the European market, as well as a seven-seater L0 version for both European and US markets, beginning the second quarter of 2012 after test production takes place next year.

The plant will have an output capacity of 200,000 cars a year, with possible expansion to 300,000 vehicles if demand increases.

Abarth’s conversion kits have been a huge success, with the scorpion brand reporting that one Abarth 500 in three is upgraded with the official kit. With that in mind, it’s only logical for the Fiat tuner to expand the market for its Esseesse kit designed to “improve performance, handling and safety without having to sacrifice the car’s low emissions and fuel consumption”. The latest recipients are the Abarth 500C and Abarth Punto Evo.

The Punto Evo Esseesse has 180 hp and 270 Nm, top speed of 216 km/h and acceleration from 0-100 km/h in just 7.5 seconds. This is an increase from the standard Abarth, which has 165 hp/250 Nm and a fixed geometry Garrett turbocharger on the supermini’s 1.4-litre Multiair engine. A six-speed manual is the only gearbox option.

The Esseesse pack for the 500C gives the cute little convertible enough poke to potentially scare bigger opposition. It now pushes out 160 hp and 230 Nm from 1.4-litres, compared to the standard Abarth’s 140 hp/206 Nm. Top speed is 209 km/h and 0-100 km/h takes just 7.6 seconds. That’s pretty fast for a “girly car” in standard Fiat form.

Both Esseesse cars come in Campovolo Grey, named after the airfield located opposite the company’s historic headquarters in Corso Marche, Turin. The Punto Evo gets 18′-inch alloys in a special titanium-coloured design, Abarth Corse by Sabelt seats in black leather and a Blue&Me MAP satellite navigation system complete with telemetrics developed with Magneti Marelli. The 500C has the latter too, plus a Record Monza exhaust silencer (dual mode with variable counter pressure) that enhances engine sound above 4,000 rpm.

Fascinating stuff. More pics after the jump.
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