Auto-Bon Oy part of the Bassadone Automotive Nordic, has reached an agreement with Astara Mobility to acquire Astara Ital Finland Oy which distributes Fiat, Alfa Romeo and Jeep in Finland. The transaction includes also Fiat Professional commercial vehicles and the Abarth brand. The staff of Astara Ital Finland will transfer together with the importer business to Bassadone Group. The transaction is subject to the Finnish Competition and Consumer Authority’s approval.
Auto-Bon’s previous Stellantis brands include Citroën, Peugeot, DS Automobiles as well as the recently acquired Opel. Following the transaction, all of the volume brands of Stellantis sold in Finland can be found under the same roof as Auto Bon’s brand portfolio grows with Fiat, Alfa Romeo and Jeep.
“Focusing all of the manufacturer’s brands to one importer is a natural progression of the industry’s concentration. This allows us to also concentrate brands in our dealer network. We now have the possibility to make our customer service even more customer friendly and only thus are the cost benefits realized in the whole supply chain. Our customer care will also improve with the added benefits of the acquisition,” says Auto-Bon CEO Markus Vuolle.
Stellantis was formed in 2021 in the wake of the merger between French PSA Groupe and Italian American conglomerate FCA (Fiat Chrysler Automobiles). The aim of Stellantis has been to concentrate all of its brands under the same importer. In Finland Stellantis has chosen to continue its successful partnership with Bassadone and Auto-Bon.
“At the moment the whole industry is facing enormous pressure to consolidate. Thus we’ve consciously embraced all opportunities as they arise Acquisition of Fiat, Alfa Romeo and Jeep is a natural progression to our successful cooperation with Stellantis – Bassadone is a trusted partner and the manufacturer has chosen us to import and retail all of the Stellantis brands,” adds Bassadone Automotive Nordic’s CEO Antti Ruhanen.
New brands and strategic branding
All of Auto Bon’s newest brands have iconic histories and carry positive associations for everyone. Having all Stellantis brands under one importer offers the possibility to make the most out of the synergies between brands while still maintaining a strong brand strategy for each individual brand.
“Fiat has traditionally held a strong position in the commercial vehicle category with Ducato. Now its electrified model range has expanded to all commercial vehicle categories offering the latest technology. At Auto-Bon we can reach specific target groups with each of the brands and build our selection to better suit the customers’ needs now that we carry all of the Stellantis manufactured commercial vehicles”, Vuolle continues.
Iconic brands energized
The Metamorfosi turnover plan of Alfa Romeo will rejuvenate the legendary Italian brand in coming years. By 2026 will launch every year a new Alfa Romeo model. By 2027 Alfa Romeo will have fully electric model range with the DNA of the Italian racing classic.
Jeep comes to us at an exciting time just as the European Car of the Year 2023, fully electric Jeep Avenger, is launched. Jeep’s model range is also rapidly getting electric which will make the iconic off-road vehicle very tempting in the near future.