FIAT, an acronym for
Fabbrica Italiana Automobili Torino , is an
ItalianItaly , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
automobile manufacturerThe automotive industry designs, develops, manufactures, markets, and sells motor vehicles, and is one of the world's most important economic sectors by revenue....
, engine manufacturer, financial, and industrial group based in
TurinTurin is a city and major business and cultural centre in northern Italy, capital of the Piedmont region, located mainly on the left bank of the Po River and surrounded by the Alpine arch. The population of the city proper is 909,193 while the population of the urban area is estimated by Eurostat...
in the Italian region of
PiedmontPiedmont is one of the 20 regions of Italy. It has an area of 25,402 square kilometres and a population of about 4.4 million. The capital of Piedmont is Turin. The main local language is Piedmontese. Occitan is also spoken by a minority in the Occitan Valleys situated in the Provinces of...
. Fiat was founded in 1899 by a group of investors including
Giovanni AgnelliGiovanni Agnelli was an Italian entrepreneur, who founded Fiat car manufacturing in 1899.-Early life:The son of Edoardo Agnelli and Aniceta Frisetti, he was born in Villar Perosa, a small town near Pinerolo, Piedmont, still the main home and burial place of the Agnelli family...
. During its more than century long history, Fiat has also manufactured railway engines and carriages, military vehicles, and aircraft. As of 2009, Fiat group (not including
Chrysler Chrysler Group LLC is a multinational automaker headquartered in Auburn Hills, Michigan, USA. Chrysler was first organized as the Chrysler Corporation in 1925....
) was the world's ninth largest carmaker and the largest in Italy.
Fiat-based cars are built around the world. Outside Italy, the largest country of production is
BrazilBrazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
, where the Fiat brand is the market leader. The group also has factories in
ArgentinaArgentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
and
PolandPoland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
and a long history of licensing production of its products in other countries. It also has numerous alliances and joint ventures around the world, the principal ones being located in
ItalyItaly , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
,
FranceThe French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
,
TurkeyTurkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
,
SerbiaSerbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...
,
IndiaIndia , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
and
ChinaChinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
.
Agnelli's grandson
Gianni AgnelliGiovanni Agnelli , better known as Gianni Agnelli , was an Italian industrialist and principal shareholder of Fiat. As the head of Fiat, he controlled 4.4% of Italy's GDP, 3.1% of its industrial workforce, and 16.5% of its industrial investment in research...
was Fiat's chairman from 1966 until 1996; he then served as honorary chairman from 1996 until his death on 24 January 2003, during which time Cesare Romiti served as chairman. After their removal, Paolo Fresco served as chairman and Paolo Cantarella as CEO.
Umberto AgnelliUmberto Agnelli was an Italian entrepreneur and politician. His brother was Gianni Agnelli.He served as a CEO of Fiat from 1970–1976 and senator of the Italian Republic, from 1976 to 1979, and was the honorary chairman of the Juventus soccer team, the past president of the Italian Football...
then took over as chairman from 2002 to 2004. After Umberto Agnelli's death on 28 May 2004, Luca Cordero di Montezemolo was named chairman, with Agnelli heir
John ElkannJohn Philip Jacob Elkann is an Italian industrialist. He was the chosen heir of Gianni Agnelli, his grandfather, and controls the family's automaker Fiat...
becoming vice chairman (at the age of 28), and other family members also serving on the board. At this point, CEO Giuseppe Morchio resigned, and
Sergio MarchionneSergio Marchionne is an international manager best known for his turnaround of the Italian automotive group Fiat and, more recently, for managing the US automotive group Chrysler from bankruptcy to profitability...
was named to replace him on 1 June 2004.
In September 2010, shareholders approved a plan to split Fiat's capital goods businesses from the group. Agricultural and construction equipment manufacturer
CNH GlobalCNH Global N.V. is a global, full line company operating in both the agricultural and construction equipment industries. CNH's scope includes integrated engineering, manufacturing, marketing and distribution of equipment on five continents...
NV, truck maker
IvecoIveco, an acronym for Industrial Vehicle Corporation, originally an alliance of European commercial vehicle manufacturers such as Fiat , Unic and Magirus. Iveco is now an Italian truck, bus, and diesel engine manufacturer, based in Turin...
, and the industrial and marine division of
Fiat Powertrain TechnologiesThe Fiat Powertrain Technologies is a part the Fiat Group, which includes all the activities related to powertrains and transmissions to Fiat Automobiles Iveco , Centro Ricerche Fiat and Elasis....
were spun off into a new group on 1 January 2011. The parent company,
Fiat IndustrialFiat Industrial S.p.A. is a company to which Fiat S.p.A. Fiat Industrial S.p.A. is a company to which Fiat S.p.A. Fiat Industrial S.p.A. is a company to which Fiat S.p.A. (parent company of Fiat Group demerged its capital goods activities at the start of 2011...
S.p.A., was listed on the Milan stock exchange on 3 January 2011.
History
Giovanni Agnelli founded Fiat in 1899 with several investors and led the company until his death in 1945, while
Vittorio VallettaVittorio Valletta was an Italian industrialist and President of Fiat from 1946 to 1966....
administered the firm's daily activities. Its first car the
3 ½ CVThe FIAT 4 HP, sometimes called the 3 ½ CV, was the first model of car produced by FIAT. Eight examples were produced in its first year and total of 24 between 1899 and 1900. The car had a water-cooled 0.7-liter 2-cylinder, rear-mounted engine producing 4.2 horsepower at 800 rpm, mounted to...
(of which only eight copies were built, all bodied by Alessio of Turin) strongly resembled contemporary Benz, and had a 697 cc boxer twin engine. In 1903, Fiat produced its first truck. In 1908, the first Fiat was exported to the US. That same year, the first Fiat aircraft engine was produced. Also around the same time, Fiat taxis became somewhat popular in Europe. By 1910, Fiat was the largest automotive company in Italy — a position it has retained since. That same year, a plant licensed to produce Fiats in
PoughkeepsiePoughkeepsie is a city in the state of New York, United States, which serves as the county seat of Dutchess County. Poughkeepsie is located in the Hudson River Valley midway between New York City and Albany...
, NY, made its first car. Owning a Fiat at that time was a sign of distinction. The cost of a Fiat in the US was between $3,600 and $8,600, compared to US$825 the
Model TThe Ford Model T is an automobile that was produced by Henry Ford's Ford Motor Company from September 1908 to May 1927...
in 1908.
Upon the entry of the US into
World War IWorld War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
in 1917, the factory was shut down as US regulations became too burdensome. At the same time, Fiat had to devote all of its factories to supplying
the AlliesThe Entente Powers were the countries at war with the Central Powers during World War I. The members of the Triple Entente were the United Kingdom, France, and the Russian Empire; Italy entered the war on their side in 1915...
with aircraft, engines, machine guns, trucks, and ambulances. After the war, Fiat introduced its first tractor, the 702. By the early 1920s, Fiat had a market share in Italy of 80%.
In 1921, workers seized Fiat's plants and hoisted the red flag of communism over them. Agnelli responded by quitting the company. However, the
Italian Socialist PartyThe Italian Socialist Party was a socialist and later social-democratic political party in Italy founded in Genoa in 1892.Once the dominant leftist party in Italy, it was eclipsed in status by the Italian Communist Party following World War II...
and its ally organization, the General Confederation of Labor, in an effort to effect a compromise with the centrist parties ordered the occupation ended. In 1922, Fiat began to build the famous
LingottoLingotto is a district of Turin, Italy, that named the Lingotto building in Via Nizza, which once was a huge automobile factory, constructed by Fiat. Built from 1916 and opened in 1923, the design was unusual in that it had five floors, with raw materials going in at the ground floor, and cars...
car factory — then the largest in Europe — which opened in 1923. It was the first Fiat factory to use assembly lines; by 1925, Fiat controlled 87% of the Italian car market. In 1928, with the
509The Fiat 509 was a model of car produced by Italian automotive manufacturer Fiat between 1925 and 1929 as a replacement for the 501. Approximately 90,000 of the model were sold. In 1926 the car was upgraded to the 509A...
, Fiat included insurance in the purchase price.
Fiat made military machinery and vehicles during
World War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
for the
ArmyThe Italian Army is the ground defence force of the Italian Armed Forces. It is all-volunteer force of active-duty personnel, numbering 108,355 in 2010. Its best-known combat vehicles are the Dardo infantry fighting vehicle, the Centauro tank destroyer and the Ariete tank, and among its aircraft...
and
Regia AeronauticaThe Italian Royal Air Force was the name of the air force of the Kingdom of Italy. It was established as a service independent of the Royal Italian Army from 1923 until 1946...
and later for the Germans. Fiat made obsolete fighter aircraft like the biplane
CR.42The Fiat CR.42 Falco was a single-seat sesquiplane fighter which served primarily in Italy's Regia Aeronautica before and during World War II. The aircraft was produced by the Turin firm, and entered service, in smaller numbers, with the air forces of Belgium, Sweden and Hungary...
, which was one of the most common Italian aircraft, along with
Savoia-Marchetti-History:The original company was founded in 1915 as SIAI . After World War I gained the name Savoia, when it acquired the Società Anonima Costruzioni Aeronautiche Savoia, an Italian aircraft company founded by Umberto Savoia in 1915.The name Marchetti was added when chief designer Alessandro...
s, as well as light tanks (obsolete compared to their German and
SovietThe Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
counterparts) and armoured vehicles. The best Fiat aircraft was the
G.55The Fiat G.55 Centauro was a single-engine single-seat World War II fighter aircraft used by the Regia Aeronautica and the A.N.R. in 1943-1945. It was designed and built in Turin by Fiat. The Fiat G.55 was probably the best type produced in Italy during World War II, but it did not enter...
fighter, which arrived too late and in too limited numbers. In 1945 — the year
MussoliniBenito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini was an Italian politician who led the National Fascist Party and is credited with being one of the key figures in the creation of Fascism....
was overthrown — the Italian Committee of National Liberation removed the Agnelli family from leadership roles in Fiat because of its ties to Mussolini's government. These were not returned until 1963, when Giovanni's grandson,
GianniGiovanni Agnelli , better known as Gianni Agnelli , was an Italian industrialist and principal shareholder of Fiat. As the head of Fiat, he controlled 4.4% of Italy's GDP, 3.1% of its industrial workforce, and 16.5% of its industrial investment in research...
, took over as general manager until 1966, as chairman until 1996.
Gianni Agnelli
Among the younger Agnelli's first steps after gaining control of Fiat was a massive reorganization of the company management, which had previously been highly centralized, with little provision for the delegation of authority and decision-making. Such a system was effective in the past, but lacked the responsiveness and flexibility needed by Fiat's steady expansion, and the growth of its international operations in the 1960s. The company was reorganized on a product-line basis, with two main product groups — one for passenger cars, the other for trucks and tractors — and a number of semi-independent division and subsidiaries. Top management, freed from responsibility for day-by-day operations of the company, was able to devote its efforts to more far-reaching goals. In 1967, Fiat made its first acquisition when it purchased
AutobianchiAutobianchi was an Italian automobile manufacturer, created jointly by Bianchi, Pirelli and Fiat in 1955. Autobianchi produced only a handful of models during its lifetime, which were almost exclusively small cars, with the biggest being the short-lived Autobianchi A111, a small family car...
; with sales amounting to $1.7 billion, it outstripped Volkswagen, its main European competitor, and in 1968 produced some 1,750,000 vehicles while its sales volume climbed to $2.1 billion. According to
Newsweek in 1968, Fiat was "the most dynamic automaker in Europe...[and] may come closest to challenging the worldwide supremacy of Detroit." Then, in 1969, it purchased controlling interests in Ferrari and Lancia. At the time, Fiat was a
conglomerateA conglomerate is a combination of two or more corporations engaged in entirely different businesses that fall under one corporate structure , usually involving a parent company and several subsidiaries. Often, a conglomerate is a multi-industry company...
, owning
AlitaliaAlitalia - Linee Aeree Italiane S.p.A. , in its later stages known as Alitalia - Linee Aeree Italiane S.p.A. in Extraordinary Administration, was the former Italian flag carrier...
, toll highways, a typewriter and office machine manufacturer, electronics and electrical equipment firms, a paint company, a civil engineering firm, and an international construction company. Following up on an agreement Valletta had made with Soviet officials in 1966, Agnelli constructed the
AvtoVAZAvtoVAZ is the Russian automobile manufacturer formerly known as VAZ: Volzhsky Avtomobilny Zavod , but better known to the world under the trade name Lada. The company was established in the late 1960s in collaboration with Fiat...
plant in the new city of Togliattigrad on the Volga. This began operation in 1970, producing a local version of the
Fiat 124The Fiat 124 is a mid-sized family car produced by the Italian manufacturer Fiat between 1966 and 1974. It was the replacement of the Fiat 1300 and Fiat 1500...
as the
LadaLada is a trademark of AvtoVAZ, a Russian car manufacturer in Tolyatti, Samara Oblast. All AvtoVAZ vehicles are currently sold under the Lada brand, though this was not always so; Lada was originally AvtoVAZ's export brand for models it sold under the Zhiguli name in the domestic Soviet market...
. On his initiative, Fiat automobile and truck plants were also constructed in industrial centers of
YugoslaviaYugoslavia refers to three political entities that existed successively on the western part of the Balkans during most of the 20th century....
, Poland,
BulgariaBulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...
, and
RomaniaRomania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
.
Despite offering a relatively competitive range of cars, Fiat was not immune from the financial pressures that the auto industry confronted following the 1973
oil price shockThe 1973 oil crisis started in October 1973, when the members of Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries or the OAPEC proclaimed an oil embargo. This was "in response to the U.S. decision to re-supply the Israeli military" during the Yom Kippur war. It lasted until March 1974. With the...
. Towards the end of 1976 it was announced that the
Libyan governmentLibya is an African country in the Maghreb region of North Africa bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Sudan to the southeast, Chad and Niger to the south, and Algeria and Tunisia to the west....
was to take a 9.6% share holding in the company in return for a capital injection worth an equivalent of £250 million. The size of the Libyan investment is apparent when it is compared to the £310 million
IMFThe International Monetary Fund is an organization of 187 countries, working to foster global monetary cooperation, secure financial stability, facilitate international trade, promote high employment and sustainable economic growth, and reduce poverty around the world...
loan that the Italian government was trying to negotiate at the time. Other aspects of the Libyan agreement included the construction of a truck and bus plant at
TripoliTripoli is the capital and largest city in Libya. It is also known as Western Tripoli , to distinguish it from Tripoli, Lebanon. It is affectionately called The Mermaid of the Mediterranean , describing its turquoise waters and its whitewashed buildings. Tripoli is a Greek name that means "Three...
. Chairman Agnelli candidly described the deal as "a classic petro-money recycling operation which will strengthen the Italian reserves, provide Fiat with fresh capital and give the group greater tranquility in which to carry out its investment programmes". Equally noteworthy was the fact that despite the dilutive effect of the Libyan investment on existing shareholders, the company's largest shareholder, the Agnelli family, retained a 30% stake in the recapitalised business.
In 1979, the company became a holding company when it spun off its various businesses into autonomous companies, one of them being Fiat Auto. That same year, sales reached an all-time high in the US, corresponding to the
Iranian Oil CrisisThe 1979 oil crisis in the United States occurred in the wake of the Iranian Revolution. Amid massive protests, the Shah of Iran, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, fled his country in early 1979 and the Ayatollah Khomeini soon became the new leader of Iran. Protests severely disrupted the Iranian oil...
. However, when gas prices fell again after 1981, Americans began purchasing
sport utility vehicleA sport utility vehicle is a generic marketing term for a vehicle similar to a station wagon, but built on a light-truck chassis. It is usually equipped with four-wheel drive for on- or off-road ability, and with some pretension or ability to be used as an off-road vehicle. Not all four-wheel...
s,
minivanMinivan is a type of van designed for personal use. Minivans are typically either two-box or one box designs for maximum interior volume – and are taller than a sedan, hatchback, or a station wagon....
s, and
pickup truckA pickup truck is a light motor vehicle with an open-top rear cargo area .-Definition:...
s in larger numbers (marking a departure from their past preference for large cars). Also, Japanese automakers had been taking an ever-larger share of the car market, increasing at more than half a percent a year. Consequently, in 1984, Fiat and Lancia withdrew from the United States market. In 1989, it did the same in the Australian market, although it remained in New Zealand.
In 1986, Fiat acquired Alfa Romeo from the Italian government. Also, in 1986 15% of Fiat company stock was still owned by Libya, an investment dating back to the mid-seventies. US foreign policy under President Reagan's administration canceled a Pentagon contract to produce earth movers with Fiat and pressured the company into brokering a buyout of the Libyan investment. In 1992, two top corporate officials in the Fiat Group were arrested for political corruption. A year later, Fiat acquired Maserati. In 1995 Alfa Romeo exited the US market. Maserati re-entered the US market under Fiat in 2002. Since then, Maserati sales there have been increasing briskly.
Paolo Fresco
Paolo Fresco became chairman of Fiat in 1998 with the hope that the veteran of
General ElectricGeneral Electric Company , or GE, is an American multinational conglomerate corporation incorporated in Schenectady, New York and headquartered in Fairfield, Connecticut, United States...
would bring more emphasis on shareholder value to Fiat. By the time he took power, Fiat's market share in Italy had fallen to 41% from around 62% in 1984. However, a Jack Welch-like management style would be much harsher than that used by the Italians (e.g., precarious versus lifetime employment). Instead, Fresco focused on offering more incentives for good performance, including compensation using stock options for top and middle management.
However, his efforts were frustrated by union objections. Unions insisted that pay raises be set by length of tenure, rather than performance. Another conflict was over his preference for informality (the founder, Giovanni Agnelli, used to be a cavalry officer). He often referred to other managers by their first name, although company tradition obliged one to refer to others using their titles (e.g., "Chairman Fresco"). The CEO of the company, Managing Director Paolo Cantarella, ran the day-to-day affairs of the company, while Fresco determined company strategy and especially acted as a negotiator for the company. In fact, many speculated the main reason he was chosen for the job was to sell Fiat Auto (although Fresco fervently denied it). In 1999, Fiat formed CNH Global by merging New Holland NV and Case Corporation.
Partnership with GM
Over time, most automotive companies around the world have become
holding companiesA holding company is a company or firm that owns other companies' outstanding stock. It usually refers to a company which does not produce goods or services itself; rather, its purpose is to own shares of other companies. Holding companies allow the reduction of risk for the owners and can allow...
of foreign as well as domestic competitors. For example, General Motors owned a
controlling interestControlling interest in a corporation means to have control of a large enough block of voting stock shares in a company such that no one stock holder or coalition of stock holders can successfully oppose a motion...
in
Saab AutomobileSaab Automobile AB, better known as Saab , is a Swedish car manufacturer owned by Dutch automobile manufacturer Swedish Automobile NV, formerly Spyker Cars NV. It is the exclusive automobile Royal Warrant holder as appointed by the King of Sweden...
and, until recently, in
Isuzu, is a Japanese car, commercial vehicle and heavy truck manufacturing company, headquartered in Tokyo. In 2005, Isuzu became the world's largest manufacturer of medium to heavy duty trucks. It has assembly and manufacturing plants in the Japanese city of Fujisawa, as well as in the prefectures...
. Fresco signed a joint-venture agreement in 2000 under which GM acquired a stake in Fiat Auto. This made it appear as if Fiat was next, although GM has made joint ventures with other companies without acquiring them. Nevertheless, Fiat did not see the GM partnership as a threat, rather as an opportunity to off-load its automotive business. The agreement with GM included a
put optionA put or put option is a contract between two parties to exchange an asset, the underlying, at a specified price, the strike, by a predetermined date, the expiry or maturity...
, which held that Fiat would have the right to sell GM its auto division after four years at fair market value. If GM balked, it would be forced to pay a penalty of $2 billion. When Fiat tried to sell GM the company, GM chose the penalty. On 13 May 2005 GM and Fiat officially dissolved their agreement.
The current CEO views alliances such as these as the deciding factor of the future success of Fiat. In 2005, Fiat was courting Ford.
As part of the recent divestitures, under the guidance of CEO Giuseppe Morchio in 2003 Fiat shed its insurance sector, which it was operating through Toro Assicurazioni to the DeAgostini Group. In the same year, Fiat sold its aviation business, FiatAvio to Avio Holding. In February 2004, the company sold its interest in Fiat Engineering, as well as its stake in Edison.
Fiat faces a multitude of threats, including rising steel prices (up by 16–30% beginning of 2008), a strong Euro, and increased competition from Japanese and South Korean car manufacturers in Europe. Although the light-vehicle market share of Japanese and South Korean automakers in Europe is less than in the US (12.5% and 3.9%, respectively versus 30% and 3.9% in the US), it has been increasing steadily at about a half a percent a year.
In April and May 2009, the possibility of a take over of Adam Opel GmbH, a subsidiary of
General MotorsGeneral Motors Company , commonly known as GM, formerly incorporated as General Motors Corporation, is an American multinational automotive corporation headquartered in Detroit, Michigan and the world's second-largest automaker in 2010...
, was being discussed between the two companies. The deal fell through, and General Motors held on to Opel/Vauxhall.
Sergio Marchionne
Sergio Marchionne has impressed investors since taking over as CEO in June, 2004. Losses have fallen steadily since 2002, and Q4 of FY2005 saw its first profit in 17 quarters, and had a profit of €196M for the first 9 months of FY2006. Mr. Marchionne has reduced Fiat's managerial bureaucracy and changed its tone to a focus on markets and profit. While the chairman, Luca di Montezemolo, dealt with politicians and unions, Marchionne rebuilt the car business. The success of the
Grande PuntoThe Fiat Grande Punto is a car manufactured by the Italian automaker Fiat. It was unveiled on May 5, 2005 and replaced by the Punto Evo in 2010. In September 2011 Fiat unveil the Punto model year 2012, the new version will replaced the Grande Punto and the Punto Evo...
model has in large part been responsible for the turnaround in Fiat's fortunes, but the quite successful Bravo (successor to the Stilo) and the award winning 500 have really cemented it. Fiat has formed a joint venture with India's
TATA MotorsTata Motors Limited is an Indian multinational automotive corporation headquartered in Mumbai, India. Part of the Tata Group, it was formerly known as TELCO...
and China's
Chery motorsChery Automobile Co Ltd is a state-owned automobile manufacturer in the People's Republic of China.Chery became the 7th most-productive Chinese vehicle manufacturer in 2010, selling nearly 700,000 units.-History:...
. Under Marchionne it has also re-entered several large markets that it had exited years before, such as Mexico and Australia. In December 2008, Marchionne announced Fiat have to become one of the top five automakers to survive in the long run. In 2009, Fiat expressed interest in acquiring
General MotorsGeneral Motors Company , commonly known as GM, formerly incorporated as General Motors Corporation, is an American multinational automotive corporation headquartered in Detroit, Michigan and the world's second-largest automaker in 2010...
'
OpelAdam Opel AG, generally shortened to Opel, is a German automobile company founded by Adam Opel in 1862. Opel has been building automobiles since 1899, and became an Aktiengesellschaft in 1929...
and South American operation. GM declined Fiat's offer. In Marchionne´s leadership Fiat returned to the United States and Canada markets with the new 500.
Acquisition of Chrysler
On 20 January 2009, Fiat S.p.A. and
Chrysler LLC Chrysler Group LLC is a multinational automaker headquartered in Auburn Hills, Michigan, USA. Chrysler was first organized as the Chrysler Corporation in 1925....
announced their intention to form a global alliance. Under the terms of the agreement, Fiat would take a 20% stake in Chrysler and gain access to its North American distribution network in exchange for providing Chrysler with technology and platforms to build smaller, more fuel-efficient vehicles in the US and providing reciprocal access to Fiat's global distribution network.
In addition, the proposed agreement would entitle Fiat to receive a further 15% (without cash consideration) through the achievement of specific product and commercial objectives. No cash or financial support was required from Fiat under the agreement. Instead it would obtain its stake mainly in exchange for covering the cost of retooling a Chrysler plant to produce one or more Fiat models for in the US. Fiat would also provide engine and transmission technology to enable Chrysler to introduce smaller, fuel-efficient models in the NAFTA market.
The deal was engineered by Fiat chief
Sergio MarchionneSergio Marchionne is an international manager best known for his turnaround of the Italian automotive group Fiat and, more recently, for managing the US automotive group Chrysler from bankruptcy to profitability...
, who pulled the Italian group back from the brink of collapse after taking over in 2004. The principal objective of the partnership was to provide both groups with significantly enhanced economies of scale and geographical reach at a time when they were struggling to compete with larger and more global rivals such as Toyota,
VolkswagenVolkswagen Group is a German multinational automobile manufacturing group. , Volkswagen was ranked as the world’s third largest motor vehicle manufacturer and Europe's largest....
and alliance partners
Renault S.A.Renault S.A. is a French automaker producing cars, vans, and in the past, autorail vehicles, trucks, tractors, vans and also buses/coaches. Its alliance with Nissan makes it the world's third largest automaker...
and
Nissan, usually shortened to Nissan , is a multinational automaker headquartered in Japan. It was a core member of the Nissan Group, but has become more independent after its restructuring under Carlos Ghosn ....
.
On 30 April 2009, Fiat announced the signing of a series of agreements to form a global strategic alliance with Chrysler, with Fiat receiving an initial 20% stake and the option to further purchase/receive additional ownership interests in Chrysler, pursuant to certain conditions being met. Fiat's shareholding would be capped at 49%, however, until all government loans had been repaid.
Fiat would not have to pay any money for its 20% of Chrysler. On 7 June 2009, the
Indiana State PoliceThe Indiana State Police is the statewide law enforcement agency for the state of Indiana. Indiana was the 12th state to offer protection to its citizens with a state police force.-History:...
Pension Fund, the Indiana Teacher's Retirement Fund, and the state's Major Moves Construction Fund asked the US Supreme Court to delay the sale of Chrysler to Fiat while they challenge the deal. The funds argued that the sale went against US bankruptcy law because it unlawfully rewarded unsecured creditors ahead of secured creditors. On 9 June 2009, the Supreme Court lifted the temporary hold, clearing the way for Fiat to acquire Chrysler. See
Indiana State Police Pension Trust v. ChryslerIndiana State Police Pension Trust v. Chrysler LLC was a lawsuit brought in United States federal court June 2009 by several pension funds against Chrysler LLC and the United States Department of the Treasury, to block the planned sale of Chrysler LLC assets to a "New Chrysler" entity in the...
for more information. On 10 June, the Supreme Court announced that Fiat was now an owner of the new Chrysler a.k.a
Chrysler Group LLC Chrysler Group LLC is a multinational automaker headquartered in Auburn Hills, Michigan, USA. Chrysler was first organized as the Chrysler Corporation in 1925....
.
Marchionne was appointed CEO of Chrysler following its emergence from bankruptcy proceedings. Under his leadership, Chrysler has taken on a structure similar to that of Fiat and has released, in quick succession, a large number of completely redesigned or refreshed vehicles. The launch of the Fiat 500 marked the Italian automaker's return to the United States & Canada, a market from which it had been absent since 1984. Prior to this, Fiat's main presence on the continent was
MexicoThe United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
, where it offered a greater variety of products than in the United States & Canada.
On 10 January 2011, Fiat announced that it had increased its share in Chrysler from 20% to 25% following the achievement of the first of three performance objectives. On 11 April 2011, it announced achievement of the second performance objective, increasing its stake a further 5% to 30%. On 24 May 2011, Fiat announced that it had paid Chrysler US$ 1,268 million for a further 16% interest, increasing its stake total stake to 46% (fully diluted). The transaction coincided with Chrysler refinancing its debt to the U.S. and Canadian governments. On 25 May autonews.com reported that Fiat could buy government stakes in Chrysler as soon as the end of July 2011, increasing its total stake to 54%.
In May 2011, it emerged that Fiat could actually increase its stake in Chrysler Group to more than 70 percent through the exercise of further options.
In a regulatory filing dated 22 July 2011, the Michigan-based automaker reported that Fiat held a 53.5% interest (fully diluted). Fiat and Chrylser have both stated that they expect that interest to reach 58.5% by the end of 2011 as result of achievement of the third of the three performance objectives.
Activities
The group's activities were initially focused on the industrial production of cars, industrial and agricultural vehicles. Over time it has diversified into many other fields, and the group now has activities in a wide range of sectors in industry and financial services. It is Italy's largest industrial concern. It also has significant worldwide operations, operating in 61 countries with 1,063 companies that employ over 223,000 people, 111,000 of whom are outside Italy.
Principal subsidiaries
Fiat's principal operating subsidiaries (direct and indirect) include: Fiat Group Automobiles S.p.A. (FGA); Chrysler Group LLC (a subsidiary of FGA); Fiat Automoveis, S.A. (subsidiary of FGA); FGA Capital S.p.A. (a JV held 50% by FGA);
Ferrari S.p.A.Ferrari S.p.A. is an Italian sports car manufacturer based in Maranello, Italy. Founded by Enzo Ferrari in 1929, as Scuderia Ferrari, the company sponsored drivers and manufactured race cars before moving into production of street-legal vehicles as Ferrari S.p.A. in 1947...
;
Maserati S.p.A.Maserati is an Italian luxury car manufacturer established on December 1, 1914, in Bologna. The company's headquarters is now in Modena, and its emblem is a trident. It has been owned by the Italian car giant Fiat S.p.A. since 1993...
; Fiat Powertrain Technologies S.p.A.; Magneti Marelli S.p.A.; Teksid S.p.A.; Comau S.p.A.; Itedi-Italiana Edizioni S.p.A. (see 2010 Annual Report ).
Automotive
For Fiat branded cars see Fiat AutomobilesFiat Automobiles S.p.A. is an Italian automaker which produces Fiat branded cars, and is part of Fiat Group Automobiles S.p.A.. This is a subsiadiary of Fiat S.p.A., the largest automobile manufacturer in Italy...
>
Fiat is the largest vehicle manufacturer in Italy, with cars ranging from small Fiat
city carA city car is a small car intended for use primarily in an urban area.City cars are sold worldwide and most automotive industry manufacturers have one or two in their line-up. In North-America city cars are often referred to simply as "subcompacts" alongside the superminis. These kind of cars...
s to sports cars made by Ferrari, and vans and trucks such as the
DucatoThe Fiat Ducato is a large van produced by Fiat. The Fiat Ducato is the same van as the Citroën Jumper and the Peugeot Boxer, which are all very popular vans to convert into motorhomes...
. Besides Fiat Group Automobiles S.p.A, the Fiat Group automotive companies include
Ferrari S.p.A.Ferrari S.p.A. is an Italian sports car manufacturer based in Maranello, Italy. Founded by Enzo Ferrari in 1929, as Scuderia Ferrari, the company sponsored drivers and manufactured race cars before moving into production of street-legal vehicles as Ferrari S.p.A. in 1947...
and
Maserati S.p.A.Maserati is an Italian luxury car manufacturer established on December 1, 1914, in Bologna. The company's headquarters is now in Modena, and its emblem is a trident. It has been owned by the Italian car giant Fiat S.p.A. since 1993...
The Fiat Group Automobiles S.p.A. companies include:
Abarth & C. S.p.A.Abarth is an Italian racing car maker founded by Austrian-Italian Carlo Abarth and Italian Armando Scagliarini in Turin in 1949. Its logo depicts a stylized scorpion on a red and yellow background.- History :...
,
Alfa Romeo Automobiles S.p.A.Alfa Romeo Automobiles S.p.A. is an Italian manufacturer of cars. Founded as A.L.F.A. on June 24, 1910, in Milan, the company has been involved in car racing since 1911, and has a reputation for building expensive sports cars...
, Chrysler Group LLC,
Fiat Automobiles S.p.A.Fiat Automobiles S.p.A. is an Italian automaker which produces Fiat branded cars, and is part of Fiat Group Automobiles S.p.A.. This is a subsiadiary of Fiat S.p.A., the largest automobile manufacturer in Italy...
,
Fiat ProfessionalFiat Professional is the new brand name for Fiat Group Automobiles Light Commercial Vehicles division. It was launched on 17 April 2007 and replaces the "Fiat Veicoli Commerciali" brand name....
and
Lancia Automobiles S.p.A.Lancia Automobiles S.p.A. is an Italian automobile manufacturer founded in 1906 by Vincenzo Lancia and which became part of the Fiat Group in 1969. The company has a long history of producing distinctive cars and also has a strong rally heritage. Some modern Lancias are seen as presenting a more...
.
Ferrari S.p.A.Ferrari S.p.A. is an Italian sports car manufacturer based in Maranello, Italy. Founded by Enzo Ferrari in 1929, as Scuderia Ferrari, the company sponsored drivers and manufactured race cars before moving into production of street-legal vehicles as Ferrari S.p.A. in 1947...
is 90% owned by the Fiat Group.
The
European Car of the YearThe European Car of the Year award was established in 1964 by a collective of automobile magazines from different countries in Europe. The current organisers of the award are Auto , Autocar , Autopista , Autovisie , L'Automobile Magazine , Stern and Vi Bilägare .The voting jury consists of motoring...
award, Europe's premier automotive
trophyA trophy is a reward for a specific achievement, and serves as recognition or evidence of merit. Trophies are most often awarded for sporting events, from youth sports to professional level athletics...
for the past 40 years, has been awarded twelve times to the Fiat Group, more than any other manufacturer. Most recently the
Fiat Nuova 500The Fiat 500 or Fiat Nuova 500 is a city car built by Italian automaker Fiat since 2007. The car is currently produced in Tychy, Poland by Fiat Auto Poland S.A. and in Toluca, Mexico, by Chrysler Group LLC. The four-seater, three-door hatchback 500 is almost identical to the retro concept car...
has won the award for European Car of the Year 2008.
List of Fiat Group models which have won European Car of the Year:
- 1967: Fiat 124
The Fiat 124 is a mid-sized family car produced by the Italian manufacturer Fiat between 1966 and 1974. It was the replacement of the Fiat 1300 and Fiat 1500...
- 1970: Fiat 128
The Fiat 128 is a small family car manufactured by the Italian manufacturer Fiat from 1969 to 1985. The engine was designed by the famous Ferrari racing engine designer Aurelio Lampredi.-History:...
- 1972: Fiat 127
The Fiat 127 is a supermini produced by the Italian automaker Fiat between 1971 and 1983. It was introduced in 1971 as the replacement for the Fiat 850...
- 1980: Lancia Delta
The Lancia Delta is a small family car produced by Italian automaker Lancia with the first generation being produced between 1979 and 1994, the second generation running from 1993 until 1999, and the third generation Delta entering production in 2008. It was first shown inFrankfurt Motor Show in 1979...
- 1984: Fiat Uno
The Fiat Uno is a supermini car produced by the Italian manufacturer Fiat. The Uno was launched in 1983 and built in its homeland until 1995, with production still taking place in other countries.-First series :...
- 1989: Fiat Tipo
The Fiat Tipo is a small family car designed by the IDEA design house and produced by the Italian manufacturer Fiat between 1988 and 1995.The Tipo was initially available only as a five-door hatchback. The car was made entirely out of galvanized body panels to avoid rust, and was built on a...
- 1995: Fiat Punto
The Fiat Punto is a supermini produced by the Italian manufacturer, Fiat, since 1993.-1st generation :Internally codenamed Project 176, the Punto was announced in September 1993 and launched in late 1993 as a replacement for the ageing Fiat Uno. The Fiat Punto was voted European Car of the Year...
- 1996: Fiat Bravo/Brava
The Fiat Bravo and Fiat Brava are small family cars produced by the Italian automaker Fiat from 1995 to 2001. The name was revived for 2007 with an all-new replacement for the Stilo; the new version will use only the Bravo name and is not available with three doors...
- 1998: Alfa Romeo 156
The Alfa Romeo 156 is a compact executive car introduced by Italian automaker Alfa Romeo at the 1997 Frankfurt Motor Show as the replacement for the Alfa Romeo 155...
- 2001: Alfa Romeo 147
The Alfa Romeo 147 is a small family car produced by Italian automaker Alfa Romeo from 2000 to 2010. The 147 was voted European Car of the Year for 2001, beating the Ford Mondeo and the Toyota Prius....
- 2004: Fiat Panda
- 2008: Fiat 500
Commercial vehicles
On 17 April 2007 Fiat Automobiles'
light commercial vehicleLight commercial vehicles is a commercial carrier vehicles with a Gross vehicle weight of up to 3.5 tonnes. The formal term within the European Union is Light commercial vehicles. Vehicles which qualify in this category are pickup trucks, vans and 3 wheelers all commercially based goods or...
unit
Fiat Veicoli Commerciali was rebranded as
Fiat ProfessionalFiat Professional is the new brand name for Fiat Group Automobiles Light Commercial Vehicles division. It was launched on 17 April 2007 and replaces the "Fiat Veicoli Commerciali" brand name....
. Some of Fiat's light commercial vehicle products include the
Fiat DucatoThe Fiat Ducato is a large van produced by Fiat. The Fiat Ducato is the same van as the Citroën Jumper and the Peugeot Boxer, which are all very popular vans to convert into motorhomes...
,
Fiat ScudoThe Fiat Scudo is a medium-sized van, larger than the Fiat Doblo and smaller than the Fiat Ducato vans. The 'Combinato' version, which is a basic Scudo van with rear seats and windows, is a popular vehicle for taxi drivers, as their size can accommodate up to seven people and passengers with...
and
Fiat DoblòThe Fiat Doblò is a panel van and leisure activity vehicle produced by Italian automaker Fiat since 2000, it was unveiled at the Paris Motor Show in 2000.-First generation :...
Cargo.
Fiat's main commercial vehicles unit
IvecoIveco, an acronym for Industrial Vehicle Corporation, originally an alliance of European commercial vehicle manufacturers such as Fiat , Unic and Magirus. Iveco is now an Italian truck, bus, and diesel engine manufacturer, based in Turin...
was demerged into
Fiat IndustrialFiat Industrial S.p.A. is a company to which Fiat S.p.A. Fiat Industrial S.p.A. is a company to which Fiat S.p.A. Fiat Industrial S.p.A. is a company to which Fiat S.p.A. (parent company of Fiat Group demerged its capital goods activities at the start of 2011...
at the beginning of 2011. This encompasses trucks (Iveco and
Seddon AtkinsonSeddon Atkinson Vehicles Limited, a manufacturer of large goods vehicles based in Oldham, Greater Manchester, England, was formed in mid 1970 when Atkinson Vehicles Limited of Preston was acquired by Seddon Diesel Vehicles Limited of Oldham...
), buses (Iveco and
IrisbusIrisbus is a bus manufacturer which was formed through the merger of the bus and coach divisions of Fiat Industrial, Iveco and Renault in January 1999 and Ikarus Bus in late 1999...
) and firefighting vehicles (
CamivaCAMIVA, an initialism for Constructeurs Associés de Matériels d'Incendie, Voirie et Aviation, is a French company which specializes in equipment for fire and rescue founded in 1970, near Chambéry, in Saint-Alban-Leysse in the department of Savoie, France.-History:CAMIVA took over the activities...
, Iveco and
MagirusIveco Magirus AG is a truck manufacturer based in Ulm, Germany, founded by Conrad Dietrich Magirus . The company began manufacturing fire-fighting vehicles in 1864. In the late 1910s, it started the production of trucks and buses...
). For information on their military vehicles, see
ArieteThe C1 Ariete is the main battle tank of the Italian Army, developed by a consortium formed by Iveco-Fiat and Oto Melara . The chassis and engine were produced by Iveco, while the turret and fire-control system were produced by Oto Melara...
.
Components
The major Italian component maker Magneti Marelli is owned by Fiat, and in turn owns the other brands Carello, Automotive Lighting, Siem, Cofap, Jaeger,
SolexSolex was a French manufacturer of carburetors and the powered bicycle VéloSoleX.The Solex company was founded by Marcel Mennesson and Maurice Goudard to manufacture vehicle radiators...
, Veglia Borletti, Vitaloni, and
WeberWeber is an Italian company producing carburetors, currently owned by Magneti Marelli Powertrain S.p.A., in turn part of the Fiat Group.The company was established as...
; other accessory brands include Brazilian Cofap.
Metallurgical products
Fiat owns Teksid S.p.A., the largest iron foundry group in the world with a production capacity of approximately 600,000 tons annually. The company was established in December 1978, and designs and produces cylinder blocks, cylinder heads, exhaust manifolds, drive shafts, camshafts and other components for automobiles and commercial vehicles.
Teksid, which is specialized in casting and processing iron, has plants in France, Portugal, Poland, Brazil, Mexico and China.
Since 2007, Teksid S.p.A. runs also Teksid Aluminum S.r.l. a company specialized in casting and producing auto components from aluminium alloys.
Production systems
Production systems are made mainly through
Comau S.p.A.Comau is part of "Fiat Group". Among many manufacturing solutions, it is specialized in welding robots. Comau's C3G controller was the first controller capable of multi-arm syncronization with up to 4 six-axis arms moving syncronized...
(now Comau Systems), which bought the American Pico, Renault Automation and Sciaky and produces industrial automation systems. In the 1970s and 1980s, the company became a pioneer in the use of industrial robotics for the assembly of motor vehicles. Fiat assembly plants are among the best automated and advanced in the world.
Services
An insurance company, Toro Assicurazioni, allowed Fiat to control a relevant part of this market (also with minor companies like Lloyd Italico) and to interact with some associated banks. Toro Assicurazioni was acquired by the giant insurance company
Assicurazioni GeneraliAssicurazioni Generali S.p.A. is the largest insurance company in Italy and one of the largest in Europe. It has its headquarters in Trieste...
and is no longer related to the Fiat Group. Fiat still retains control of Augusta assicurazioni.
Construction
Ingest Facility and Fiat Engineering work in various fields of construction, while IPI is a mediation company that also deals with the management of real estate properties.
Information technology
Fiat Group is present in
ITInformation technology is the acquisition, processing, storage and dissemination of vocal, pictorial, textual and numerical information by a microelectronics-based combination of computing and telecommunications...
fields and in communications with ICT — Information & Communication Technology, Espin, Global Value, TeleClient, London and Atlanet.
Publishing and communication
Fiat group also owns important editorial brands, like
La StampaLa Stampa is one of the best-known, most influential and most widely sold Italian daily newspapers. Published in Turin, it is distributed in Italy and other European nations. The current owner is the Fiat Group.-History:...
(created in 1926 for the famous newspaper), Itedi, and Italiana Edizioni. Some national and local newspapers are owned or otherwise controlled by the different companies. A specialised advertising space reseller is Publikompass, supported by the Consorzio Fiat Media Center.
Other activities
Fiat Gesco, KeyG Consulting, Sadi Customs Services, Easy Drive, RM Risk Management and Servizio Titoli are minor companies that work for public services, delivering services in economics and financial fields. Other activities include industrial securitisation (Consorzio Sirio), treasury (Fiat Geva), Fiat Information & Communication Services.
Fiat supports the
Fondazione Giovanni Agnelli, an important foundation for social and economic research.
Palazzo GrassiPalazzo Grassi is an edifice in the Venetian Classical style located on the Grand Canal of Venice, northern Italy...
, a famous ancient building in
VeniceVenice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...
, now a museum and formerly supported by Fiat, was eventually sold to the French businessman
François PinaultFrançois Pinault is a French businessman who runs the retail company PPR. He is a friend of former French President Jacques Chirac....
in January 2005.
Fiat has recently begun sponsoring the Jamaican bobsledding team and promoting this sponsorship through commercials. Many like Jamaican athletes because they see them as underdogs and as people who enjoy life. While Volvo sponsors golf, Mercedes tennis, and Hyundai soccer, Fiat is trying to look unique and more light-hearted. Further, the team is relatively cheap to sponsor.
The group is present in many countries, not only in the West. Notably, it was one of the first companies to build factories in Soviet territory, with the best known examples in
VladivostokThe city is located in the southern extremity of Muravyov-Amursky Peninsula, which is about 30 km long and approximately 12 km wide.The highest point is Mount Kholodilnik, the height of which is 257 m...
,
KievKiev or Kyiv is the capital and the largest city of Ukraine, located in the north central part of the country on the Dnieper River. The population as of the 2001 census was 2,611,300. However, higher numbers have been cited in the press....
and
TogliattiTolyatti , also known as Togliatti, is a city in Samara Oblast, Russia. It serves as the administrative center of Stavropolsky District, although it is administratively separate from it...
. The Russian government later continued the joint venture under the name AutoVAZ (known as
LadaLada is a trademark of AvtoVAZ, a Russian car manufacturer in Tolyatti, Samara Oblast. All AvtoVAZ vehicles are currently sold under the Lada brand, though this was not always so; Lada was originally AvtoVAZ's export brand for models it sold under the Zhiguli name in the domestic Soviet market...
outside the former USSR). The venture was most notable for the
Lada RivaThe VAZ-2105, VAZ-2104 and VAZ-2107 are a series of medium-sized family cars built by Russian car manufacturer AvtoVAZ, introduced in 1980 in the Soviet Union, and progressively in other European markets through the early 1980s and sold in both saloon and estate versions...
. Fiat also has a subsidiary in Poland at
TychyTychy is a city in Silesia, Poland, approximately south of Katowice. Situated on the southern edge of the Upper Silesian industrial district, the city borders Katowice to the north, Mikołów to the west, Bieruń to the east and Kobiór to the south...
, (formerly called FSM) where Fiat's small cars (the
126The Fiat 126 is a city car introduced in October 1972 at the Turin Auto Show as a replacement for the Fiat 500. Most were produced in Bielsko-Biała, Poland as the Polski Fiat 126p until 2000...
,
CinquecentoThe Fiat Cinquecento was a city car designed by Giorgetto Giugiaro launched by Fiat in late 1991 to replace the Fiat 126. It was the first Fiat model to be solely manufactured in the FSM plant in Tychy, Poland, which had been sold to Fiat by the Polish state, and where production of the Polish...
,
SeicentoThe Fiat Seicento is a city car produced by the Italian company Fiat, introduced in late 1997 as a replacement for the Fiat Cinquecento. The Seicento did not differ much from its predecessor, retaining the same engines, chassis and general dimensions, although it did gain a minor 9 cm in length...
,
Nuova 500The Fiat 500 or Fiat Nuova 500 is a city car built by Italian automaker Fiat since 2007. The car is currently produced in Tychy, Poland by Fiat Auto Poland S.A. and in Toluca, Mexico, by Chrysler Group LLC. The four-seater, three-door hatchback 500 is almost identical to the retro concept car...
and
Ford KaThe Ford Ka is a city car from the Ford Motor Company marketed in Europe and elsewhere.The current European version is produced by Fiat Auto in Tychy, Poland, while the model sold in Latin America is built in Brazil and Argentina....
) and small diesel engines are made. Fiat also has factories in Argentina, Brazil, and Italy. In addition, its cars are produced through licensing and joint-venture agreements in China, Egypt, France, India, South Africa, Turkey, and Vietnam. Local variants of Fiats are produced at these factories as well as a world car, the
PalioThe Fiat Palio is a small family car designed by Fiat as a world car, aimed at developing countries. It is produced in Brazil, Argentina, Turkey, South Africa and China. It is also built under licence in North Korea as the Pyonghwa Hwiparam. Russian ZMA started assembly of Turkish CKD kits in...
. As of 2005, the company holds the first position in the Brazilian automobile market with a market share close to 25%.
Fiat has articulated that it wishes to focus on expanding into third-world markets because, in the words of former chairman Paolo Fresco, "those are the only markets where you can expect growth. And it is true that Fiat's specialization in smaller cars puts it at an advantage in those markets, but cars sold in third-world countries tend to be much simpler than those sold elsewhere (e.g., most lack air conditioning), and thus require much less money to develop.
Fiat is also present in the combat vehicle sector through a consortium between
IvecoIveco, an acronym for Industrial Vehicle Corporation, originally an alliance of European commercial vehicle manufacturers such as Fiat , Unic and Magirus. Iveco is now an Italian truck, bus, and diesel engine manufacturer, based in Turin...
and
OTO MelaraOto Melara is an Italian defence company with factories in Brescia and La Spezia. It was founded in 1905 as a joint venture of Vickers and Terni. During World War I, Vickers Terni produced many weapons with calibre 40 mm and upwards. In 1929 the company was renamed Odero Terni Orlando with the...
, their most notable product being the
LAVLAV or Lav may refer to:* Light armoured vehicles** LAV-25, used by the United States Marine Corps** LAV III, in service with the Canadian and New Zealand armed forces...
B1 CentauroThe Centauro is a wheeled tank destroyer designed for light to medium territorial defense and tactical reconnaissance. It was developed by a consortium of manufacturers, the Società Consortile Iveco Fiat - Oto Melara...
.
Agricultural and construction equipment
Fiat Group previously owned
CNH GlobalCNH Global N.V. is a global, full line company operating in both the agricultural and construction equipment industries. CNH's scope includes integrated engineering, manufacturing, marketing and distribution of equipment on five continents...
(which includes Case Construction,
Case IHCase IH is an American mechanical company, one of the world’s largest brands of agricultural equipment. With headquarters in Racine, Wisconsin, it has a network of more than 4,000 dealers and distributors that operates in more than 160 countries...
, Flexi-Coil, Kobelco, New Holland, New Holland Construction, and Steyr); and Fiat-
Hitachiis a Japanese multinational conglomerate headquartered in Marunouchi 1-chome, Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan. The company is the parent of the Hitachi Group as part of the larger DKB Group companies...
Construction. This was demerged into
Fiat IndustrialFiat Industrial S.p.A. is a company to which Fiat S.p.A. Fiat Industrial S.p.A. is a company to which Fiat S.p.A. Fiat Industrial S.p.A. is a company to which Fiat S.p.A. (parent company of Fiat Group demerged its capital goods activities at the start of 2011...
at the start of 2011. CNH is the second largest agricultural equipment manufacturer in the world after
Deere & CompanyDeere & Company, usually known by its brand name John Deere , is an American corporation based in Moline, Illinois, and the leading manufacturer of agricultural machinery in the world. In 2010, it was listed as 107th in the Fortune 500 ranking...
and is also the third largest producer of construction equipment after
Caterpillar Inc.Caterpillar Inc. , also known as "CAT", designs, manufactures, markets and sells machinery and engines and sells financial products and insurance to customers via a worldwide dealer network. Caterpillar is the world's largest manufacturer of construction and mining equipment, diesel and natural gas...
and Komatsu. When part of Fiat Group, CNH accounted for around 20% of its total revenues.
Aviation and motorcycles
Fiat, as Fiat Aviazione, was an important aircraft manufacturer, focused mainly on military aviation. After
World War IWorld War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, Fiat consolidated several Italian small aircraft manufacturers, like
PomilioFabbrica Aeroplani Ing. O. Pomilio was an Italian World War I biplane aircraft manufacturer.The Pomilio series of aircraft were two-seater scout aircraft. When first introduced in Spring 1917 the type was faster than most other machines of its day although instability problems had to be dealt...
and
AnsaldoAnsaldo was one of Italy's oldest and most important engineering companies, existing for 140 years from 1853 to 1993.-From foundation to World War I:...
. Most famous were Fiat biplane
fighter aircraftA fighter aircraft is a military aircraft designed primarily for air-to-air combat with other aircraft, as opposed to a bomber, which is designed primarily to attack ground targets...
of the 1930s,
Fiat CR.32The Fiat CR.32 was an Italian biplane fighter used in the Spanish Civil War and World War II. This nimble little Fiat was compact, robust and highly manoeuvrable and gave impressive displays all over Europe in the hands of the Pattuglie Acrobatiche. The CR.32 fought in North and East Africa, in...
and
Fiat CR.42The Fiat CR.42 Falco was a single-seat sesquiplane fighter which served primarily in Italy's Regia Aeronautica before and during World War II. The aircraft was produced by the Turin firm, and entered service, in smaller numbers, with the air forces of Belgium, Sweden and Hungary...
. Other notable designs were fighters
CR.20|-See also:-References:* Green, William and Gordon Swanborough. The Complete Book of Fighters. New York:Smithmark, 1994. ISBN 0-8317-3939-8....
,
G.50The Fiat G.50 Freccia was a World War II Italian fighter aircraft. First flown in February 1937, the G.50 was Italy’s first single-seat, all-metal monoplane with an enclosed cockpit and retractable landing gear to go into production...
,
G.55The Fiat G.55 Centauro was a single-engine single-seat World War II fighter aircraft used by the Regia Aeronautica and the A.N.R. in 1943-1945. It was designed and built in Turin by Fiat. The Fiat G.55 was probably the best type produced in Italy during World War II, but it did not enter...
and a bomber, the
Fiat BR.20The Fiat BR.20 Cicogna was a low-wing twin-engine medium bomber produced from mid-1930s until the end of World War II by the Turin firm. When it entered service in 1936 it was the first all-metal Italian bomber and it was regarded as one of the most modern medium bomber of the world...
. In 1950s, the company designed the
G.91The Fiat G.91 was an Italian jet fighter aircraft. It was the winner of the NATO competition in 1953 as standard equipment for Allied air forces. It entered in operational service with the Italian Air Force in 1961, with West Germany's Luftwaffe, in 1962, and later with the Portuguese Air Force....
light ground attack plane. In 1969, Fiat Aviazione merged with
AerferAerfer was an Italian manufacturing company created in 1955 by the merger of IMAM and Meridionali. The name is a contraction of Costruzioni Aer onautiche e Fer roviarie ....
to create
AeritaliaAeritalia was an aerospace engineering corporation based in Italy, originally Fiat Aviazione before merging with Aerfer, and now part of Alenia Aeronautica....
.
In 1959,
PiaggioPiaggio based in Pontedera, Italy encompasses seven brands of scooters, motorcycles and compact commercial vehicles. As the fourth largest producer of scooters and motorcycles in the world, Piaggio produces more than 600,000 vehicles annually, with five research and development centers, more than...
came under the control of the Agnelli family. In 1964, the aeronautical and motorcycle divisions split to become independent companies. The aeronautical division was named IAM Rinaldo Piaggio. Today the aeronautical company
Piaggio AeroPiaggio Aero Industries is an aircraft manufacturing company born from the former Rinaldo Piaggio SPA, an Italian company. The company is one of the world's oldest airplane manufacturers, and its planes have been well known from the early days of aviation history.Today, Piaggio Aero Industries is...
is controlled by the family of
Piero FerrariPiero Lardi Ferrari is the second and only living son of Enzo Ferrari and presently 10% owner of the Ferrari automotive company where he is also Vice Chairman of company. His mother was Enzo's mistress, Lina Lardi, and he was not acknowledged as a Ferrari family member until the death of Enzo's...
, which also hold 10% of the carmaker
FerrariFerrari S.p.A. is an Italian sports car manufacturer based in Maranello, Italy. Founded by Enzo Ferrari in 1929, as Scuderia Ferrari, the company sponsored drivers and manufactured race cars before moving into production of street-legal vehicles as Ferrari S.p.A. in 1947...
.
The motorcycle division, Vespa, thrived until 1992, when Giovanni Alberto Agnelli became CEO — but Agnelli was already suffering from cancer, and died in 1997. In 1999, Morgan Grenfell Private Equity acquired Piaggio.
Recreation
The Fiat Group owned the
SestriereSestriere is an alpine village in Italy, a comune of the Province of Turin. It is from the French border. Its name derives from Latin: ad petram sistrariam, that is at sixty Roman miles from Turin....
skiing facilities; the village in the
AlpsThe Alps is one of the great mountain range systems of Europe, stretching from Austria and Slovenia in the east through Italy, Switzerland, Liechtenstein and Germany to France in the west....
is a creation of the Agnelli family. The Sestriere skiing facilities were sold by the group in 2006.
Enterprises outside Italy
See list of Fiat Group assembly sites
Fiat was a key player in developing motor industries for a number of countries from the 1950s, particularly in Eastern Europe, Spain,
EgyptEgypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
, Ethiopia and
TurkeyTurkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
. The AutoVAZ state works
LadaLada is a trademark of AvtoVAZ, a Russian car manufacturer in Tolyatti, Samara Oblast. All AvtoVAZ vehicles are currently sold under the Lada brand, though this was not always so; Lada was originally AvtoVAZ's export brand for models it sold under the Zhiguli name in the domestic Soviet market...
products in Tolyatti (Togliatti), Russia, were Fiat based, as were SEAT products of Spain. Lada now is controlled by Renault, and SEAT by Volkswagen. A small number of Fiats were built in Bulgaria. Among Fiat's earliest foreign assembly plants was one in Poughkeepsie, New York, between 1910 and 1913. The building is now part of the Marist College campus.
Fiat Automóveis (Brazil)
Fiat Automóveis S.A., a subsidiary of Fiat S.p.A., began making automobiles in
BrazilBrazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
in 1976 beginning with the production of the
Fiat 147The Fiat 147 was a three door hatchback compact car produced by Fiat in the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais from 1976 until 1986, when it was replaced by the Fiat Uno. It was the Brazilian variant of the Fiat 127...
, the Brazilian version of the Italian
Fiat 127The Fiat 127 is a supermini produced by the Italian automaker Fiat between 1971 and 1983. It was introduced in 1971 as the replacement for the Fiat 850...
, produced until 1986. More than 10,000,000 units were produced in Fiat Automóveis factory in
BetimBetim is a city in Minas Gerais, Brazil. It is located at around . The city belongs to the mesoregion Metropolitan of Belo Horizonte and to the microregion of Belo Horizonte....
since 1976, plus 232,807 units in the Fiat Argentina plant of
CórdobaCórdoba is a city located near the geographical center of Argentina, in the foothills of the Sierras Chicas on the Suquía River, about northwest of Buenos Aires. It is the capital of Córdoba Province. Córdoba is the second-largest city in Argentina after the federal capital Buenos Aires, with...
. This car also were built in the CCA plant in Bogotá, Colombia.
Launched in July 1979, the 147 was the first mass produced car that ran on
ethanolEthanol fuel is ethanol , the same type of alcohol found in alcoholic beverages. It is most often used as a motor fuel, mainly as a biofuel additive for gasoline. World ethanol production for transport fuel tripled between 2000 and 2007 from 17 billion to more than 52 billion litres...
as fuel instead of petrol. The performance slightly increased and fuel consumption was 30% higher but the cost of the alcohol was a quarter of the gasoline because, at that time, petrol had become expensive as a consequence of the 1979 oil crisis. This version was nicknamed
cachacinha (little
cachaçaCachaça is a liquor made from fermented sugarcane.It is the most popular distilled alcoholic beverage in Brazil. It is also known as aguardente, pinga, caninha and many other names...
) because it had the scent of that Brazilian drink.
In October 1984 Fiat Automóveis introduce the
Fiat UnoThe Fiat Uno is a supermini car produced by the Italian manufacturer Fiat. The Uno was launched in 1983 and built in its homeland until 1995, with production still taking place in other countries.-First series :...
, as a 1985 model. Currently, the car is sold as the Fiat Mille, as an entry-level model, and received its most recent facelift for the 2004 model year. From 1984 until 2006, up to 2,000,000 Fiat Unos were made in Brazil. The production of the world car — the
Fiat PalioThe Fiat Palio is a small family car designed by Fiat as a world car, aimed at developing countries. It is produced in Brazil, Argentina, Turkey, South Africa and China. It is also built under licence in North Korea as the Pyonghwa Hwiparam. Russian ZMA started assembly of Turkish CKD kits in...
– began in 1996.
After the successful 2003 introduction of
flexible-fuel vehicleA flexible-fuel vehicle or dual-fuel vehicle is an alternative fuel vehicle with an internal combustion engine designed to run on more than one fuel, usually gasoline blended with either ethanol or methanol fuel, and both fuels are stored in the same common tank...
s in the Brazilian market, Fiat Automóveis launched its first flex model in March 2004, the
Fiat PalioThe Fiat Palio is a small family car designed by Fiat as a world car, aimed at developing countries. It is produced in Brazil, Argentina, Turkey, South Africa and China. It is also built under licence in North Korea as the Pyonghwa Hwiparam. Russian ZMA started assembly of Turkish CKD kits in...
, followed by the
SienaThe Fiat Siena is the four-door sedan version of the Fiat Palio, a supermini car especially designed for developing countries. The car is similar to Fiat Albea...
and Palio Weekend. Fiat sold 665,514 vehicles in Brazil in 2008, allowing the carmaker to continue as the market leader for seven years in a row. Flex fuel automobiles represented almost 100 percent of the car sales in 2008, and 92 percent of all light-duty trucks sold.
In 2006 Fiat introduced the
Fiat Siena Tetra fuelThe Fiat Siena is the four-door sedan version of the Fiat Palio, a supermini car especially designed for developing countries. The car is similar to Fiat Albea...
, a four-fuel car developed under Magneti Marelli of Fiat Brazil. This automobile can run as a
flex-fuelA flexible-fuel vehicle or dual-fuel vehicle is an alternative fuel vehicle with an internal combustion engine designed to run on more than one fuel, usually gasoline blended with either ethanol or methanol fuel, and both fuels are stored in the same common tank...
on 100% ethanol (E100); or on E20-E25 blend, Brazil's normal ethanol gasoline blend; on pure gasoline (though no longer available in Brazil since 1993, it is still used in neighboring countries); or just on
natural gas (CNG)Compressed natural gas is a fossil fuel substitute for gasoline , diesel, or propane/LPG. Although its combustion does produce greenhouse gases, it is a more environmentally clean alternative to those fuels, and it is much safer than other fuels in the event of a spill...
. The Siena Tetrafuel was engineered to switch from any gasoline-ethanol blend to CNG automatically, depending on the power required by road conditions.
Fiat Argentina
Fiat has been present in Argentina since the beginning of 20th century. There was a Fiat manufacturing plant in Córdoba at least as far back as 1954 when Fiat entered into a joint venture with two local companies to manufacture tractors. In 1959 the construction of a car plant in
CaserosCaseros is a city in Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. It is the head town of the Tres de Febrero Partido which forms part of the Greater Buenos Aires urban conurbation....
was approved, and 1960 saw the production there of the first Argentinian produced Fiat passenger car, a
Fiat 600The Fiat 600 is a city car produced by the Italian automaker Fiat from 1955 to 1969. Measuring only 3.22 m long, it was the first rear-engined Fiat and cost the equivalent of about € 6,700 or US$ 7300 in today's money . The total number produced from 1955 to 1969 at the Mirafiori...
, after the
Fiat 1100The Fiat 1100 is a compact automobile produced from 1937 to 1969, by the Italian car maker Fiat.- Fiat 508C Nuova Balilla 1100 :The Fiat 1100 was first introduced in 1937 as an updated version of the 508 "Balilla" with a look similar to the 1936 Fiat 500 "Topolino" and the larger 1500, with the...
Export and after in 1963 the
Fiat 1500Fiat 1500 may refer to:* Fiat 1500 , the 1935 model* Fiat 1300/1500, the 1961 model...
. In 1977 appears the Fiat 133, just a rebadged Seat 133 but made in Argentina. By 1978 a car manufacturing facility was well established in
CórdobaCórdoba is a city located near the geographical center of Argentina, in the foothills of the Sierras Chicas on the Suquía River, about northwest of Buenos Aires. It is the capital of Córdoba Province. Córdoba is the second-largest city in Argentina after the federal capital Buenos Aires, with...
, producing
Fiat 128The Fiat 128 is a small family car manufactured by the Italian manufacturer Fiat from 1969 to 1985. The engine was designed by the famous Ferrari racing engine designer Aurelio Lampredi.-History:...
s as well as two models which from the Italian perspective belonged in earlier decades, the
125The Fiat 125 is a large family car introduced by Fiat in 1967 and produced by them until 1972. Derivatives were built under license outside Italy until the 1990s...
(with some derivates) and the
600RThe Fiat 600 is a city car produced by the Italian automaker Fiat from 1955 to 1969. Measuring only 3.22 m long, it was the first rear-engined Fiat and cost the equivalent of about € 6,700 or US$ 7300 in today's money . The total number produced from 1955 to 1969 at the Mirafiori...
.
In 1980 a joint venture with PSA called
Sevel Argentina S.A.Sevel Argentina was an automobile company that produced and marketed Fiat, Peugeot, Alfa Romeo, Chevrolet, and Citroën automobiles for the Argentinian market until it was dissolved in 1999...
was begun, which lasted until 1995. The current day automobile manufacturing started with a new factory opened in
CórdobaCórdoba is a city located near the geographical center of Argentina, in the foothills of the Sierras Chicas on the Suquía River, about northwest of Buenos Aires. It is the capital of Córdoba Province. Córdoba is the second-largest city in Argentina after the federal capital Buenos Aires, with...
on 20 December 1996. From April 1997 the Siena and Palio models production started.
Production was suspended in the early 2000s as the Argentinean economy went downhill. In 2008 Fiat invested new money and the production of Fiat Siena saloon and the Fiat Palio was started. In October 2009, a Fiat Siena HLX becomes the 2 million unit produced by Fiat in Argentina. The Fiat Auto Argentina S.A. is Fiat S.p.A. owned company.
Fiat Serbia
Its first enterprise came in 1955, when it agreed to a deal with
YugoslavYugoslavia refers to three political entities that existed successively on the western part of the Balkans during most of the 20th century....
carmaker
ZastavaZastava can refer to:*Zastava Arms*Zastava Automobiles*Zastava Trucks...
to assemble Fiats for Eastern Europe. The first cars produced by Zastava were its versions of the Fiat 1300 and
Fiat 1400The Fiat 1400 is a model of car produced by Italian automotive manufacturer Fiat between 1950 and 1958. The car was introduced in 1950 Geneva Motor Show. It was the first chassisless Fiat automobile...
. By 1970, Zastava was producing parts for the newer
Fiat 124The Fiat 124 is a mid-sized family car produced by the Italian manufacturer Fiat between 1966 and 1974. It was the replacement of the Fiat 1300 and Fiat 1500...
and
Fiat 125The Fiat 125 is a large family car introduced by Fiat in 1967 and produced by them until 1972. Derivatives were built under license outside Italy until the 1990s...
models, which were assembled in Poland. The
Zastava 750The Zastava 750 was a car made by the Yugoslavian car maker Zavod Crvena Zastava. It was a version of the Fiat 600 made under licence from 1965, it was longer in length than the Fiat version. The Zastava 750 has a 767 cc engine and is the smallest car ever made by Zastava. Later on during...
, launched in 1962, was Zastava's version of the iconic
Fiat 600The Fiat 600 is a city car produced by the Italian automaker Fiat from 1955 to 1969. Measuring only 3.22 m long, it was the first rear-engined Fiat and cost the equivalent of about € 6,700 or US$ 7300 in today's money . The total number produced from 1955 to 1969 at the Mirafiori...
minicarMinicar or mini car may refer to:*City car, a European car classification*Kei car, a Japanese car classification*Obvio!, is a Brazilian car*The Mini, a popular British small car made from 1959 to 2000...
. It outlived the car on which it was based, with production lasting until 1981.
Zastavas were not popular outside of Eastern Europe before the 1980s, although they were exported to the US under the Yugo brand beginning in 1985.
The most famous product launched by Zastava is the Zastava 101, a front-wheel drive car based on the
Fiat 128The Fiat 128 is a small family car manufactured by the Italian manufacturer Fiat from 1969 to 1985. The engine was designed by the famous Ferrari racing engine designer Aurelio Lampredi.-History:...
, also available as a
hatchbackA Hatchback is a car body style incorporating a shared passenger and cargo volume, with rearmost accessibility via a rear third or fifth door, typically a top-hinged liftgate—and features such as fold-down rear seats to enable flexibility within the shared passenger/cargo volume. As a two-box...
version never sold in Italy. Despite numerous bad press about quality and reliability, it sold well in Yugoslavia due to its low price, cheap maintenance costs and simple mechanical design.
With the demise of the aged
Zastava 750The Zastava 750 was a car made by the Yugoslavian car maker Zavod Crvena Zastava. It was a version of the Fiat 600 made under licence from 1965, it was longer in length than the Fiat version. The Zastava 750 has a 767 cc engine and is the smallest car ever made by Zastava. Later on during...
in 1981, the minicar gap in the Zastava range was filled by the
Zastava KoralThe Zastava Koral , also known simply as the Yugo, was a subcompact car built by the Zastava corporation. The first Yugo 45 was handmade on 2 October 1978....
, which was best known in Britain and America as the Yugo Tempo. It was based on the 1971
Fiat 127The Fiat 127 is a supermini produced by the Italian automaker Fiat between 1971 and 1983. It was introduced in 1971 as the replacement for the Fiat 850...
, which was due to be replaced by the
Fiat UnoThe Fiat Uno is a supermini car produced by the Italian manufacturer Fiat. The Uno was launched in 1983 and built in its homeland until 1995, with production still taking place in other countries.-First series :...
in 1983. It was among the cheapest cars sold in both countries, and it was well received in its class in Britain, but not so in the more competitive US market. But hostility towards Yugoslavia in the wake of the 1992 civil unrest saw a swift ending of imports to both Britain and America.
The Zastava factory in
KragujevacKragujevac is the fourth largest city in Serbia, the main city of the Šumadija region and the administrative centre of Šumadija District. It is situated on the banks of the Lepenica River...
was later bombed, but was rebuilt after the war ended, and production continued at another factory in
KragujevacKragujevac is the fourth largest city in Serbia, the main city of the Šumadija region and the administrative centre of Šumadija District. It is situated on the banks of the Lepenica River...
.
In 1987, Zastava came up with a new car design. The
Zastava FloridaThe Zastava Florida, also known as Yugo Sana, Yugo Miami or Yugo Florida, is a five door hatchback produced by the Serbian automaker Zastava introduced on 19 February 1987. It was designed by Giorgetto Giugiaro at Italdesign. The car was produced in Serbia by Zastava and also in Helwan District in...
– known in other markets as the Yugo Sana – was styled by
Giorgetto GiugiaroGiorgetto Giugiaro is an Italian automobile designer responsible equally for a stable of supercars and several of the most popular everyday vehicles driven today...
at the ItalDesign studio, featured a range of refined
PeugeotPeugeot is a major French car brand, part of PSA Peugeot Citroën, the second largest carmaker based in Europe.The family business that precedes the current Peugeot company was founded in 1810, and manufactured coffee mills and bicycles. On 20 November 1858, Emile Peugeot applied for the lion...
engines, and was mechanically similar to the forthcoming and highly acclaimed
Fiat TipoThe Fiat Tipo is a small family car designed by the IDEA design house and produced by the Italian manufacturer Fiat between 1988 and 1995.The Tipo was initially available only as a five-door hatchback. The car was made entirely out of galvanized body panels to avoid rust, and was built on a...
. It was sold in Britain from 1988 to 1992, but was withdrawn from sale for a number of reasons — particularly the domestic upheavals in Yugoslavia and the fall in popularity of the whole Yugo range in Britain. Sales continued in its homeland, with an update at the end of the 1990s.
Zastava did not launch another new car for another 16 years. The 2003
Zastava 10Zastava 10 is a car produced in Kragujevac, Serbia. It is based on the Italian Fiat Punto Mark 2b. It was produced between 2006 and December 21, 2008. On March 30, 2009, its name was changed to Fiat Punto Classic.-Car:...
model was another Fiat design — this time the second generation Punto. It boasts similar features to the Punto and other cars in its class such as the
Volkswagen PoloThe Volkswagen Polo is a supermini car manufactured by Volkswagen. It is sold in Europe and other markets worldwide in hatchback, saloon, coupé and estate variants....
. It is competitively priced compared to other similar-sized cars, including the Punto on which it is based.
Four years after its launch, the
Zastava 10Zastava 10 is a car produced in Kragujevac, Serbia. It is based on the Italian Fiat Punto Mark 2b. It was produced between 2006 and December 21, 2008. On March 30, 2009, its name was changed to Fiat Punto Classic.-Car:...
has not yet been sold outside of the
former YugoslaviaThe former Yugoslavia is a term used to describe the present day states which succeeded the collapse of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia....
.
According to Fiat sources a new memorandum of understanding between Fiat and the Serb ministry of economic and regional development about the acquisition of Zastava's Kragujevac plant foresees a new company being set up in which the Italians would have a 70 percent stake and the Serb government 30 percent. Several models are to be introduced to the plant once its upgrade is complete, including possibly the Fiat 500 and the new low cost vehicle that Fiat is introducing to compete with Renault's Dacia brand.
Once fully bought by Fiat in 2008, the factory was renamed from "Zastava automobili Srbija" to "Fiat automobili Srbija" and the production of Fiat cars only has started.
In 2010 and 2011 FAS (Fiat Autimobili Srbija) seen large scale reconstruction. FAT made preparations for the production of new model, code named El Zero. New modern montage line was installed, new production buildings were built, and storage space was expanded. First sample of a new car was taken from the montage line in December 2011. Large scale production is scheduled to start in first quoter of 2011. According to plans factory should meet median production of 300 000 cars annually in 2013. In the same time with company renovation, industrial zone was expanded to accommodate space for cooperant companies in Customs Free zone „Grošnica“, initially planed to be built on location „Korman Polje“.
It is expected that a new car model called Fiat "el zero" will be produced in Serbia sometime in 2012.
Polski Fiat/FSO (Poland)
Fiat automobiles have been made in Poland since 1920. In 1932, the
Polskie Zakłady Inżynieryjne (Polish Engineering Works, PZInż)Polski Fiat was a Polish car brand. Under this brand, cars under licence of the Italian manufacturer FIAT were manufactured or assembled in Poland.-Before World War II:...
started the production of
Fiat 508The 508 was a car introduced by Fiat in 1932. It effectively replaced the Fiat 509, although production of the earlier model had ceased back in 1929. It had a three-speed transmission , seated four, and had a top speed of about . It sold for 10,800 lire...
, produced until 1939 also as a military vehicle. In 1936 the licence was extended to include the
Fiat 518The Fiat 518 Ardita was a model of car produced by Italian automotive company, Fiat between 1933 and 1938.8.794 were produced in total in Italy....
model. In 1965, the Polish communist government signed a deal with Fiat to produce selected Fiat models in Poland at the FSO factory in
WarsawWarsaw is the capital and largest city of Poland. It is located on the Vistula River, roughly from the Baltic Sea and from the Carpathian Mountains. Its population in 2010 was estimated at 1,716,855 residents with a greater metropolitan area of 2,631,902 residents, making Warsaw the 10th most...
that had been built in 1951. Production of the new car — the
Polski Fiat 125pThe Polski Fiat 125p was a motor vehicle manufactured between 1967 and 1991 in People's Republic of Poland and Republic of Poland by the state-owned manufacturer Fabryka Samochodów Osobowych under a license agreement with Fiat. It was a simplified variation of the Fiat 125, with engines and...
– began in 1967. It was visually identical to the
Fiat 125The Fiat 125 is a large family car introduced by Fiat in 1967 and produced by them until 1972. Derivatives were built under license outside Italy until the 1990s...
, but it made use of older Fiat mechanicals which dated back to 1960. The car sold well in its homeland and was soon exported to Western Europe. In 1978 it appeared on a new five-door hatchback, the
FSO PolonezThe FSO Polonez is a Polish motor vehicle produced from 1978 to 2002. The car name comes from the Polish dance, polonaise.-Background:The Polonez is a rebodied Polski Fiat 125p that Fabryka Samochodów Osobowych built under license from Fiat...
, that made use of Fiat 125p
running gearThe term running gear is used to describe the wheels, suspension, steering, powertrain & chassis/bodyshell of a motor-car or automobile, or the tracks and road wheels of a tank or similar tracked vehicle....
. After 1982, Fiat withdrew its licence; since then FSO badge was reinstated.
The
Polski Fiat 125pThe Polski Fiat 125p was a motor vehicle manufactured between 1967 and 1991 in People's Republic of Poland and Republic of Poland by the state-owned manufacturer Fabryka Samochodów Osobowych under a license agreement with Fiat. It was a simplified variation of the Fiat 125, with engines and...
design survived until 1991, by which time almost 1,500,000 had been made in less than 25 years. It was a cheap competitor for similar Eastern European budget cars, and by the time of its demise, many Eastern European carmakers were adopting modern Western style designs in place of the archaic
three-boxThree-box design is a broad automotive styling term describing a coupé, sedan, notchback or hatchback where — when viewed in profile — principal volumes are articulated into three separate compartments or boxes: engine, passenger and cargo....
saloons that had barely moved out of the 1960s.
FSO was taken over by
DaewooDaewoo or the Daewoo Group was a major South Korean chaebol . It was founded on 22 March 1967 as Daewoo Industrial and was dismantled by the Korean government in 1999...
of South Korea in 1995, by which time the
FSO PolonezThe FSO Polonez is a Polish motor vehicle produced from 1978 to 2002. The car name comes from the Polish dance, polonaise.-Background:The Polonez is a rebodied Polski Fiat 125p that Fabryka Samochodów Osobowych built under license from Fiat...
had been replaced by the Caro, which was little more than a
faceliftThe automotive facelift comprises changes to a car's styling during its production run — often including new sheetmetal and/or interior design) with minimal changes to its underlying mechanicals — allowing a carmaker to freshen a model without complete redesign.A facelift retains the...
of the 1978 design with underpinnings dating back to 1960. This car was sold in Western Europe until the end of the 1990s, and production finally finished in 2002.
FSO had become independent again in late 2000, after Daewoo went bankrupt and was taken over by General Motors. Despite this, FSO continued to build versions of the
Daewoo Matiz-M100 :The production of Daewoo Matiz started in 1998 and it was sold in South Korea and many European markets with the code name M100. The exterior design is based on the Lucciola, a Fiat Cinquecento concept by Italdesign Giugiaro which had been rejected by Fiat. The 0.8-litre gasoline engine and...
and
Daewoo LanosThe Daewoo Lanos is a subcompact car manufactured by the Korean automaker Daewoo Motor from 1997 to 2002. It was manufactured under license agreements from 1997 to 2008 by Fabryka Samochodów Osobowych in Poland, where it was marketed as the FSO Lanos, from 1998 to present in Ukraine by AvtoZAZ,...
. These cars remain in production to this day, although the target of the factory is to focus on the production of the
Chevrolet AveoThe Chevrolet Aveo is a subcompact automobile manufactured since 2002, originally by the South Korean General Motors subsidiary, GM Daewoo—and later by other GM-affiliated entities...
which has already been introduced.
The Fabryka Samochodów Małolitrażowych (FSM) in
Bielsko-Biała-Economy and Industry:Nowadays Bielsko-Biała is one of the best-developed parts of Poland. It was ranked 2nd best city for business in that country by Forbes. About 5% of people are unemployed . Bielsko-Biała is famous for its textile, machine-building, and especially automotive industry...
and
TychyTychy is a city in Silesia, Poland, approximately south of Katowice. Situated on the southern edge of the Upper Silesian industrial district, the city borders Katowice to the north, Mikołów to the west, Bieruń to the east and Kobiór to the south...
started the output of the Fiat 126(p) in 1973 and the
CinquecentoThe Fiat Cinquecento was a city car designed by Giorgetto Giugiaro launched by Fiat in late 1991 to replace the Fiat 126. It was the first Fiat model to be solely manufactured in the FSM plant in Tychy, Poland, which had been sold to Fiat by the Polish state, and where production of the Polish...
in 1991.
In 1992 90% of stock of FSM (Fiat Auto Poland, since 1993) was purchased by Fiat Auto. since then it produced
CinquecentoThe Fiat Cinquecento was a city car designed by Giorgetto Giugiaro launched by Fiat in late 1991 to replace the Fiat 126. It was the first Fiat model to be solely manufactured in the FSM plant in Tychy, Poland, which had been sold to Fiat by the Polish state, and where production of the Polish...
,
UnoThe Fiat Uno is a supermini car produced by the Italian manufacturer Fiat. The Uno was launched in 1983 and built in its homeland until 1995, with production still taking place in other countries.-First series :...
,
SeicentoThe Fiat Seicento is a city car produced by the Italian company Fiat, introduced in late 1997 as a replacement for the Fiat Cinquecento. The Seicento did not differ much from its predecessor, retaining the same engines, chassis and general dimensions, although it did gain a minor 9 cm in length...
,
SienaThe Fiat Siena is the four-door sedan version of the Fiat Palio, a supermini car especially designed for developing countries. The car is similar to Fiat Albea...
and Palio Weekend models with the capacity up to 200.000 cars a year. In 2003, FSM become the sole producer of
Fiat PandaThe Fiat Panda is a city car from the Italian automobile manufacturer Fiat. The first Fiat Panda was introduced in 1980, and was produced until 2003 with only a few changes. It is now sometimes referred to as the "old Panda". The second model, launched in 2003, is sometimes referred to "New Panda"...
, and in 2007 of new
Fiat 500The Fiat 500 is a car produced by the Fiat company of Italy between 1957 and 1975, with limited production of the Fiat 500 K estate continuing until 1977. The car was designed by Dante Giacosa....
model. The capacity was increased to ca. 280.000 cars a year, and due to new investments in 2006–2007 will reach over half a million in 2008. This will enable Fiat Auto Poland to include a new model of the
Ford KaThe Ford Ka is a city car from the Ford Motor Company marketed in Europe and elsewhere.The current European version is produced by Fiat Auto in Tychy, Poland, while the model sold in Latin America is built in Brazil and Argentina....
, a joint Ford-Fiat project, in its production. It is worth noting both Panda and 500 were selected
European car of the yearThe European Car of the Year award was established in 1964 by a collective of automobile magazines from different countries in Europe. The current organisers of the award are Auto , Autocar , Autopista , Autovisie , L'Automobile Magazine , Stern and Vi Bilägare .The voting jury consists of motoring...
, respectively in 2004 and 2008.
Other Fiat investment in Poland is a joint Fiat-GM venture of
PowertrainGM Powertrain Engineering Center Torino is a powertrain engineering center founded in 2005.The engineering center is headquartered in Turin, Italy, and is a subsidiary of General Motors....
, producing multijet (see
JTD engineJTD , an initialism for uniJet Turbo Diesel, is Fiat Group's term for its current common rail turbodiesel engine range. The MultiJet name is used in the second generation JTD common rail units. Most of the Fiat, Alfa Romeo and Lancia range has JTD engines...
) car engines both for Fiat and GM models.
AutoVAZ Lada (Russia)
In 1966, Fiat helped USSR state industries build a new car factory (
AvtoVAZAvtoVAZ is the Russian automobile manufacturer formerly known as VAZ: Volzhsky Avtomobilny Zavod , but better known to the world under the trade name Lada. The company was established in the late 1960s in collaboration with Fiat...
) on the Volga river. A planned city called
TolyattiTolyatti , also known as Togliatti, is a city in Samara Oblast, Russia. It serves as the administrative center of Stavropolsky District, although it is administratively separate from it...
(named after
Palmiro TogliattiPalmiro Togliatti was an Italian politician and leader of the Italian Communist Party from 1927 until his death.-Early life:...
, former
Italian Communist PartyThe Italian Communist Party was a communist political party in Italy.The PCI was founded as Communist Party of Italy on 21 January 1921 in Livorno, by seceding from the Italian Socialist Party . Amadeo Bordiga and Antonio Gramsci led the split. Outlawed during the Fascist regime, the party played...
SecretaryThe office of general secretary is staffed by the chief officer of:*The General Secretariat for Macedonia and Thrace, a government agency for the Greek regions of Macedonia and Thrace...
) was developed around the factory, which started producing a "people's car" similar to the
Volkswagen BeetleThe Volkswagen Type 1, widely known as the Volkswagen Beetle or Volkswagen Bug, is an economy car produced by the German auto maker Volkswagen from 1938 until 2003...
and
Citroën 2CVThe Citroën 2CV |tax horsepower]]”) was an economy car produced by the French automaker Citroën between 1948 and 1990. It was technologically advanced and innovative, but with uncompromisingly utilitarian unconventional looks, and deceptively simple Bauhaus inspired bodywork, that belied the sheer...
of Germany and France. The new Soviet car, called the
LadaLada is a trademark of AvtoVAZ, a Russian car manufacturer in Tolyatti, Samara Oblast. All AvtoVAZ vehicles are currently sold under the Lada brand, though this was not always so; Lada was originally AvtoVAZ's export brand for models it sold under the Zhiguli name in the domestic Soviet market...
, was a more spacious offering, in four-door saloon and
five-door estateA station wagon is a body style variant of a sedan/saloon with its roof extended rearward over a shared passenger/cargo volume with access at the back via a third or fifth door , instead of a trunk lid...
variants. Fiat installed British machine tools supplied by Herbert-BSA of
BirminghamBirmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
for the manufacture of many Lada parts. The 124's design was mechanically upgraded to survive treacherous Russian driving conditions and extremely cold winters. Imports to Western Europe, Canada, and some third world countries began, and by the early 1980s, the cars began to sell well owing to their low price. This car was upgraded to become the
Lada RivaThe VAZ-2105, VAZ-2104 and VAZ-2107 are a series of medium-sized family cars built by Russian car manufacturer AvtoVAZ, introduced in 1980 in the Soviet Union, and progressively in other European markets through the early 1980s and sold in both saloon and estate versions...
(marketing name in some markets) in 1980.
In 1977 the
four-wheel driveAn off-road vehicle is considered to be any type of vehicle which is capable of driving on and off paved or gravel surface. It is generally characterized by having large tires with deep, open treads, a flexible suspension, or even caterpillar tracks...
Lada NivaThe Lada Niva or VAZ-2121 is the Russian word for "crop field") is an off-road vehicle built by Soviet/Russian automaker AvtoVAZ. The car is very popular in its home country. It is also popular in Canada , South America, Europe, and other regions where the terrain requires a robust and tough car...
was introduced which used some proprietary Fiat based components from the car (e.g. engine and gearbox), but the body and four-wheel drive system were VAZ designs. The Riva and Niva are still in production as of 2011.
In June 2008, Fiat and
SeverstalOAO Severstal Russian: Северсталь, "Northern Steel") is a Russian company mainly operating in the steel and mining industry, centred in the northern city of Cherepovets. Severstal is listed on the RTS and LSE. As of 2009, it is the largest steel company in Russia according to The Metal Bulletin....
's Sollers JSC have formalised a number of joint ventures announced last year to make and sell Fiat cars and engines in Russia. They will make up to 90,000 diesel engines and up to 50,000 Fiat Linea sedans a year. Production was scheduled to begin in 2008.
In June 2011 Sollers JSC has declined previous agreements with Fiat and announce that the joint venture will be created with Ford motor company.
Tofaş (Turkey)
TofaşTofaş is a Turkish automaker, based in Bursa, Turkey, where also a plant of the company is located. It builds Fiat models under license and also some locally-designed vehicles...
is joint venture owned by Fiat SpA and Koç Holding (37.8% Fiat Group Automobiles, 37.8% Koc and 24.3% others). The Fiat 124 was produced under licence by
TofaşTofaş is a Turkish automaker, based in Bursa, Turkey, where also a plant of the company is located. It builds Fiat models under license and also some locally-designed vehicles...
as the Tofaş Murat. This was replaced by a version of the
Fiat 131The Fiat 131, additionally called "Mirafiori", is a small/medium family car produced by the Italian car manufacturer Fiat from 1974 to 1984. It was exhibited at 1974 Turin Motor Show....
, known as the
Tofaş ŞahinThe Tofaş Şahin, Doğan, and Kartal are Turkish versions of the old Fiat 131 automobile made in Turk Otomobil Fabrikasi A.S. facilities in Bursa, Turkey. While şahin means "hawk" in Turkish, kartal means "eagle" and doğan means "falcon"...
. Today the Fiat Linea car is amongst those manufactured by the Fiat-Tofas joint venture in Turkey, and the company has 12.1% of the Turkish car market as of 2007.
SEAT (Spain)
In Spain,
SEATSEAT, S.A. is a Spanish automobile manufacturer founded on May 9, 1950 by the Instituto Nacional de Industria , a state-owned industrial holding company....
– Sociedad Española de Automóviles de Turismo (Spanish Touring Car Company) was established with Fiat assistance in 1950, producing Fiat models under its own brand name until 1981, when Fiat withdrew its support. In 1982 SEAT signed a cooperation agreement with the German manufacturer
VolkswagenVolkswagen is a German automobile manufacturer and is the original and biggest-selling marque of the Volkswagen Group, which now also owns the Audi, Bentley, Bugatti, Lamborghini, SEAT, and Škoda marques and the truck manufacturer Scania.Volkswagen means "people's car" in German, where it is...
, and by the end of 1986 after a purchase of a majority stake SEAT had become part of the
Volkswagen GroupVolkswagen Group is a German multinational automobile manufacturing group. , Volkswagen was ranked as the world’s third largest motor vehicle manufacturer and Europe's largest....
. However, production of some Fiat-based models continued, ending with the Fiat-based SEAT (the
MarbellaThe SEAT Panda was a badge-engineered Fiat Panda produced by SEAT from 1980 to 1986, in the company's Landaben plant in the Spanish city of Pamplona-Navarra and also in the firm's Zona Franca plant in Barcelona...
) in 1996.
South Africa
In South Africa, the
Fiat UnoThe Fiat Uno is a supermini car produced by the Italian manufacturer Fiat. The Uno was launched in 1983 and built in its homeland until 1995, with production still taking place in other countries.-First series :...
was assembled under licence by Nissan, which marketed it through its dealerships as the Uno, with limited Fiat branding.
Egypt
Following the Egyptian Revolution of 1952, President
Gamal Abdel NasserGamal Abdel Nasser Hussein was the second President of Egypt from 1956 until his death. A colonel in the Egyptian army, Nasser led the Egyptian Revolution of 1952 along with Muhammad Naguib, the first president, which overthrew the monarchy of Egypt and Sudan, and heralded a new period of...
ordered the EGID (General Intelligence Agent) to establish a state owned automobile company. Nasr was founded in 1960 in Helwan, Egypt. It began producing some Fiat based models, but later produced the
Tofaş ŞahinThe Tofaş Şahin, Doğan, and Kartal are Turkish versions of the old Fiat 131 automobile made in Turk Otomobil Fabrikasi A.S. facilities in Bursa, Turkey. While şahin means "hawk" in Turkish, kartal means "eagle" and doğan means "falcon"...
under license by Tofaş. The Fiat 128 last model was built in 2008, while the Şahin is in production in Egypt.
Currently the
El-Mashreq Company, a part of the
Seoudi GroupThe Seoudi Group is an Egyptian automobile manufacturer which was founded in 1975 with its current head office in Cairo.The company began its work with the Modern Motors S.A.E. which is specialized for manufacturing Nissan vehicles...
is the main manufacturer of Alfa Romeo and Fiat vehicles for the Egypt market. The
AAVArab American Vehicles is an Egyptian automobile manufacturer based in Cairo, Egypt.The company manufactures various vehicles under license from Daimler AG, Kia, Chrysler LLC, and Peugeot — having begun as a joint venture between the Arab Organization for Industrialization and 49% of the...
was also an Egypt manufacturer for Fiat. They asssembled the
Fiat RitmoThe Fiat Ritmo is an automobile from the Italian manufacturer Fiat, launched in 1978. Styled by Bertone of Italy, it was seen by some as the most distinctive looking small family car in Europe on its launch in 1978 Turin Motorshow. It was badged in Great Britain and North America as the Fiat Strada...
in order of Nasr.
Premier Automobiles (India)
Premier Automobiles Limited is a Mumbai-based manufacturer of vehicles founded in 1944. In 1951, the company began producing versions of the
Fiat 500The Fiat 500 is a car produced by the Fiat company of Italy between 1957 and 1975, with limited production of the Fiat 500 K estate continuing until 1977. The car was designed by Dante Giacosa....
for the Indian market. This was followed by the
Fiat 1100The Fiat 1100 is a compact automobile produced from 1937 to 1969, by the Italian car maker Fiat.- Fiat 508C Nuova Balilla 1100 :The Fiat 1100 was first introduced in 1937 as an updated version of the 508 "Balilla" with a look similar to the 1936 Fiat 500 "Topolino" and the larger 1500, with the...
in 1954. In 1973, the Premier name was used on its vehicles for the first time, the Premier President, based on the
Fiat 1100The Fiat 1100 is a compact automobile produced from 1937 to 1969, by the Italian car maker Fiat.- Fiat 508C Nuova Balilla 1100 :The Fiat 1100 was first introduced in 1937 as an updated version of the 508 "Balilla" with a look similar to the 1936 Fiat 500 "Topolino" and the larger 1500, with the...
as
Premier Padmini'Premier Padmini' was an automobile manufactured in India from 1967 to 2000.Premier Automobiles Limited, the erstwhile flagship company of India's Walchand Hirachand Group, assembled Fiat's Fiat 1100 cars from the 1950s until 1997...
. In 1984, they launched the
Fiat 124The Fiat 124 is a mid-sized family car produced by the Italian manufacturer Fiat between 1966 and 1974. It was the replacement of the Fiat 1300 and Fiat 1500...
-based Premier 118NE and 138D models.
Fiat India Automobiles Private Limited (FIAPL) is a joint venture between Fiat and
MumbaiMumbai , formerly known as Bombay in English, is the capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the most populous city in India, and the fourth most populous city in the world, with a total metropolitan area population of approximately 20.5 million...
based
Tata MotorsTata Motors Limited is an Indian multinational automotive corporation headquartered in Mumbai, India. Part of the Tata Group, it was formerly known as TELCO...
. It was founded in 1997. Fiat builds the Palio Stile and Palio Stile Multijet in India and imports its Fiat 500 into India from Italy, whereas Fiat has many cars under its hood planned for India like the internationally acclaimed Linea, Grande Punto and Bravo, of which the Linea was released in January 2009 and the Punto in June 2009, both the cars have been well received both by the press and by the public. The Fiat plant is situated in Ranjangaon near Pune in Maharashtra and also manufactures the Tata Indica.
Pakistan
Raja Motors are the authorized manufacturers of Fiat motor vehicles in Pakistan since 1948. The manufacturing started with VESPA scooters in 1948. The project was expanded in 2001 to facilitate assembly-cum-manufacturing of Fiat UNO cars. The production facility is located in Landhi Industrial Area,
KarachiKarachi is the largest city, main seaport and the main financial centre of Pakistan, as well as the capital of the province of Sindh. The city has an estimated population of 13 to 15 million, while the total metropolitan area has a population of over 18 million...
, Pakistan.
Sri Lanka
In 1964–65, the
Ceylon Transport BoardThe Sri Lanka Transport Board is a bus service provider in Sri Lanka.Between 1958 and 1978, the Ceylon Transport Board was the nationalised enterprise which handled all public bus transport in Sri Lanka. At its peak, it was the largest omnibus company in the world - with about 7,000 buses and...
contemplated production of buses in
Sri LankaSri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...
in collaboration with FIAT. With the change of Government in 1965, the CTB opted for a deal with British Leyland.
In 1973, entrepreneur Upali Wijewardena's Upali Motor Company began assembly of the so-called 'Upali-FIAT' 128. Production ended with the introduction of the open-market economy in 1978.
North Korea
The North Korean car manufacturer and dealer Pyeonghwa Motors assembles two Fiat models under licence since 2002: Hwiparam (whistle) – based on the
Fiat SienaThe Fiat Siena is the four-door sedan version of the Fiat Palio, a supermini car especially designed for developing countries. The car is similar to Fiat Albea...
, Bbeokgugi (owl) – based on the
Fiat DoblòThe Fiat Doblò is a panel van and leisure activity vehicle produced by Italian automaker Fiat since 2000, it was unveiled at the Paris Motor Show in 2000.-First generation :...
.
See also
- Automotive industry
The automotive industry designs, develops, manufactures, markets, and sells motor vehicles, and is one of the world's most important economic sectors by revenue....
- Automotive industry crisis of 2008–2009
- List of aircraft engines
- List of Italian companies
- Neckar
Neckar was a German automobile manufacturer which produced Fiat and Autobianchi vehicles under license in Heilbronn from 1957 to 1971.- History :...
- Simca
Simca was a French automaker, founded in November 1934 by Fiat. It was directed from July 1935 to May 1963 by the Italian Henri Théodore Pigozzi...
External links