Fiat Automóveis S.A. stood out in the national automobile industry when, in 2001, it became leader in the automobile and light commercial vehicle market. The analysis of this course has evaluated the variation within the competitive environment and the strategies followed at two especially relevant moments, which were determined by a structured questionnaire and which happened in years 1994 and 2001. The characterization of the industry environment and its strategies used the Porter Model of five strengths and typology, which are based on generic strategies. The competitive environment, in the course of the previous and in the subsequent period of 1994, was evaluated to have the suppliers´ negotiation power and the industrial competition intensified. The accomplished strategy could be distinguished as having been met half way during the period previous to 1994; later on, it evolved to something more of a focus. During the previous period of 2001, and subsequently to that, the industry environment increased, highlighting the power of negotiation of the buyers and the industrial competition. In the course of this whole period, it could be evaluated that Fiat has maintained its standing, which has characterized its strategy as one oriented to focus.The performance of these two periods was also appraised by taking into consideration the variation of the return on assets and market share. In the base year of 1994, there was progress in these two performance parameters. During the period around the base year of 2001, such parameters suffered no evolution, but it could be noticed that market share was above the one of its main competitors. In addition, in terms of quality, the SCP model was validated for both periods.