Fiat Automobiles

FIAT (Italian: Fabbrica Italiana Automobili Torino, Italian Automobiles Factory, Turin) is an Italian automaker which produces Fiat branded cars, and is part of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles through its subsidiary FCA Italy S.p.A.., the largest automobile manufacturer in Italy. The company, Fiat Automobiles S.p.A., was formed in January 2007 when Fiat reorganized its automobile business, and traces its history back to 1899 when the first Fiat, or Fabbrica Italiana Automobili Torino automobile, was produced.

Production output

Fiat in Europe

Fiat's main market is Europe, mainly focused in Italy. Historically successful in citycars and supermini sector, currently Fiat has a range of models focused on those two segments (in 2011, those accounted for the 84% of its sales). Fiat does not currently offer any large family car, nor an executive car.

Fiat's share of the European market shrank from 9.4 per cent in 2000 to 5.8 per cent in the summer of 2004. At this point Sergio Marchionne was appointed as Fiat Chief Executive. By March 2009 their market share had expanded back to 9.1%.

Fiat Panda

The Fiat Panda is a city car from the Italian automobile manufacturer Fiat, now in its third generation. The first generation Fiat Panda was introduced in 1980, and was produced until 1986, when it underwent several changes. From 1986 until 2003, it was produced with only a few changes. They are now sometimes referred to as the "old Panda".

The second generation, launched in 2003, is sometimes referred to as the "New Panda" or "Nuova Panda" (in Italian), and was the European Car of the Year in 2004. The third generation debuted at Frankfurt Motor Show in September 2011 and assembled in Italy at Pomigliano d'Arco.

In over 31 years Fiat has sold over 6.5 million Pandas globally, with more than 4.5 million being the first series Panda.

First generation (1980–2003)

Introduced in 1980, the Panda (Tipo 141) was designed as a cheap, easy to use and maintain, no-frills utility vehicle, positioned in Fiat's range between the 126 and 127. It can be seen as a then-modern approach to the same niche which the Citroën 2CV and Renault 4 were designed to serve. The first Panda was designed by Giorgetto Giugiaro of Italdesign. In an interview to Turinese newspaper La Stampa published in February 1980, Giugiaro likened the Panda to a pair of jeans, because of its practicality and simplicity: