Da 500er Grenze im anderen Vorläufer erreicht geht es hier jetzt weiter mit einer ersten positiven Meldung von Reuters:
Fiat may boost new minicar output as demand heavy
Wed Jun 27, 2007 9:42AM EDT
By Martin Dokoupil
PRAGUE, June 27 (Reuters) - Fiat may boost output of its new Cinquecento minicar to 140,000 units a year given how much demand the iconic model has drawn before its July launch. Luca De Meo, head of the Fiat Auto brand, said on Wednesday orders for the car had already exceeded half its 50,000 output planned for 2007, and the demand might put pressure on the carmaker's capacity. "When I look at the number of orders and then the dealer network, I'm wondering how we can fulfill demand this year," he told reporters on the sidelines of an automotive conference. "Today, we are beyond 25,000 orders. That means basically half of production for this year and we have not even opened the whole range of versions," he said.Fiat plans to make 120,000 Cinquecentos a year, but De Meo said higher output might be reachable with lower production of the Panda subcompact or changing shifts without additional investment if heavy demand keeps up.
The Italian automaker will start selling the 500, first launched as people's car in 1957, on July 4 in Italy, with France as the next stop, De Meo said. Other markets will follow depending on availability of production capacity. The reshaped minicar -- with the engine moved to the front -- will be offered with 1.2 and 1.4 litre gasoline engines and a 1.3 litre diesel engine.
Fiat sold about 3.7 million Cinquecentos between 1957 and 1975, when it stopped production.Several automakers have cashed in on nostalgia with retro-style models, such as Volkswagen's Beetle or BMW's Mini Cooper. The model will be produced in Fiat's Polish plant, which has capacity of nearly 500,000 cars a year, sharing the platform with the Panda and the successor to Ford Motor Co.'s Ka. "There is also an issue of managing relations between the Panda and Cinquecento," De Meo said. "If the Panda continues to grow we will not take it out of production."
Für die nicht so anglophilen: Die halbe Produktion des 500 ist bereits bestellt und es wird voraussichtlich eine Kapazitätsanhebung von 120000 auf 140000 geben müssen (ob zu Lasten des Panda oder aufgrund von anderen Maßnahmen ist noch nicht klar). Auf jeden Fall scheint der 500 sehr gut anzukommen.
Dino
