Fiat Automobiles was formed in January 2007 whenFiat S.p.A. reorganized its automobile business,[2] and traces its history back to 1899, when the first Fiat automobile, theFiat 4 HP, was produced.
Fiat Automobiles is the largest automobile manufacturer in Italy. During its more than century-long history, it remained the largest automobile manufacturer in Europe and the third in the world afterGeneral Motors andFord for over 20 years, until the car industry crisis in the late 1980s.[3] In 2013, Fiat S.p.A. was the second-largest European automaker by volumes produced and theseventh in the world, while FCA was the world's eighth-largest automaker.
In 1970, Fiat Automobiles employed more than 100,000 in Italy when its production reached the highest number, 1.4 million cars, in that country.[4] As of 2002, it built more than 1 million vehicles at six plants in Italy and the country accounted for more than a third of the company's revenue.[4] Fiat has also manufacturedrailway engines, military vehicles, farm tractors,aircraft, and weapons such as theFiat–Revelli Modello 1914.
Fiat-brand cars are built in several locations around the world. Outside Italy, the largest country of production is Brazil, where the Fiat brand was the market leader for many years.[5][6] The group also has factories in Argentina, Poland and Mexico (where Fiat-brand vehicles are manufactured at plants owned and operated byStellantis North America for export to the United States, Brazil, Italy and other markets) and a long history of licensing manufacture of its products in other countries.
Fiat Automobiles has received many international awards for its vehicles,[7] including nineEuropean Car of the Year awards, the most of any other manufacturer, and it ranked many times as the lowest level of CO2 emissions by vehicles sold in Europe.[8]
On 11 July 1899,Giovanni Agnelli was part of the group of founding members of FIAT,Fabbrica Italiana di Automobili Torino. The first Fiat plant opened in 1900[9] with 35 staff making 24 cars. Known from the beginning for the talent and creativity of its engineering staff, by 1903 Fiat made a small profit and produced 135 cars; this grew to 1,149 cars by 1906. The company then went public selling shares via theMilan stock exchange.
Agnelli led the company until his death in 1945, whileVittorio Valletta administered the firm's daily activities. Its first car, the3 ½ CV (of which only 24 copies were built, all bodied byAlessio of Turin)[10] was based on a design purchased fromCeirano GB & C and had a 697 cc (42.5 cu in) boxer twin engine.[11] In 1903, Fiat produced its first truck.[12] In 1908, the first Fiat was exported to the US.[12] That same year, the first Fiat aircraft engine was produced. Also around the same time, Fiat taxis became popular in Europe.[13]
An 1899 FIAT advertisement
By 1910, Fiat was the largest automotive company inItaly. That same year, a new plant was built inPoughkeepsie,NY, by the newly founded American F.I.A.T. Automobile Company.[14][15] Owning a Fiat at that time was a sign of distinction. The cost of a Fiat in the US was initially $4,000[16] and rose to $6,400 in 1918,[17] compared to $825 and $525 for aFord Model T in 1908[18] and 1918[19] respectively. DuringWorld War I, Fiat had to devote all of its factories to supplyingthe Allies with aircraft, engines, machine guns, trucks, and ambulances. Upon the entry of theUS into the war in 1917, the factory was shut down as US regulations became too burdensome (the site was eventually sold toWestern Publishing). After the war, Fiat introduced its first tractor, the 702.[20] By the early 1920s, Fiat had a market share in Italy of 80%.[21]
In 1921, workers seized Fiat's plants and hoisted the red flag of communism over them. Agnelli responded by quitting the company. However, theItalian Socialist Party and its ally organization, theItalian General Confederation of Labour, in an effort to effect a compromise with the centrist parties ordered the occupation ended. In 1922, Fiat began to build the famousLingotto 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.[22] In 1928, with the509, Fiat included insurance in the purchase price.[23]
Fiat made military machinery and vehicles during World War II for theArmy andRegia Aeronautica and later for the Germans. Fiat made fighter aircraft like the biplaneCR.42 Falco, which was one of the most common Italian aircraft, along withSavoia-Marchettis, as well as light tanks (obsolete compared to their German and Soviet counterparts) and armored vehicles. The best Fiat aircraft was theG.55 fighter, which arrived too late and in too limited numbers. In 1943, the yearBenito Mussolini was overthrown, theNational Liberation Committee removed theAgnelli family from leadership roles in Fiat because of its ties toMussolini's government. They were not returned until 1963, when Giovanni's grandson,Gianni, took over as general manager until 1966, and as chairman until 1996.
In 1970, Fiat employed more than 100,000 in Italy when its production reached the highest number, 1.4 million cars, in that country.[4] As of 2002, Fiat built more than 1 million vehicles at six plants in Italy and the country accounted for more than a third of the company's revenue.[4]
Towards the end of 1976, it was announced that the Libyan government was to take a shareholding in the company in return for a capital injection. Other aspects of the Libyan agreement included the construction of a truck and bus plant atTripoli. 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".[24]
On 29 January 2014, it was announced that Fiat S.p.A. (the former owner of Fiat Group) was to be merged into a new Netherlands-based holding companyFiat Chrysler Automobiles NV (FCA).[25] On 1 August 2014, Fiat S.p.A. received the necessary shareholder approval to proceed with the merger,[26] which became effective on 12 October 2014.[27][28] FCA merged in 2019 with the French manufacturerPSA Group, with the new conglomerate being namedStellantis in 2020.
Global locations of Fiat Automobiles dealers, 2012
Fiat's main market is Europe, mainly focused on Italy. Historically successful in building city cars and Superminis, currently Fiat has a range of models focused on those two segments (accounting for the 84% of its sales in 2011). Fiat does not currently offer any large family cars, nor executive cars: these market segments are to some extent covered by theLancia,Alfa Romeo andMaserati brands, which Fiat also owns.
Fiat's share of the European market shrank from 9.4 percent in 2000 to 5.8 percent in the summer of 2004. At this pointSergio Marchionne was appointed as Fiat's chief executive. By March 2009 their market share had expanded to 9.1 percent.[29] Marchionne introduced an informal climate and reduced the links in the chain of command from nine to five.[30] He unilaterally decided to leave the Fiat group fromConfindustria andFedermeccanica, and to cancel the national collective labor agreement in the engineering sector by starting separate negotiations with some trade union organizations for a new specific company agreement in the automotive sector, starting from thePomigliano production plant.[31][32]
Fiat built their five-storyLingotto plant between 1915 and 1918, at which time it was Europe's largest car manufacturing plant.[33] Later the Mirafiori plant was built, also inTurin. To prepare for the production of the all-newFiat 128, Fiat opened theirRivalta plant in October 1968. Until the 128 entered production, the plant was used to build sports versions of the850 and124 as well as parts for theFiat Dino.[34]
Fiat PuntoFiat Panda CrossFiat 500X
Fiat's 2018 range of passenger car engines comprised eleven units, eight petrols and three diesels.[35] Their current range of models is the following:
Light commercial vehicles are sold in Europe under the brandFiat Professional.
Fiat was already exporting cars to the UK market by the outbreak ofWorld War II in 1939. Its market share increased rapidly during the 1970s, with the127 supermini and128 range of small family cars being the biggest sellers, selling largely on practicality and efficiency. Fiat's market share increased further during the 1980s with theFiat Uno (imported to the UK from June 1983) being the company's best-seller in the UK, and its share fell sharply in the early 1990s before the arrival of thePunto in March 1994 rejuvenated the company's UK fortunes.
The second-generation Punto was a strong seller in the UK after its October 1999 launch, but the new modern-dayFiat 500 (launched there in January 2008) has accounted for most of the company's UK sales in more recent years. The original Fiat 500 had been one of the few direct competitors for the iconicMini during its 1960s heyday.[37]
Fiat Uno, specifically developed for the Brazilian market
Fiat has long invested in South America, mainly inBrazil (where Fiat has been the market leader for many years) and inArgentina. They built their first Brazilian car plant in theGreater Belo Horizonte city ofBetim in 1973, after initially assembling tractors there.[38]
The Brazilian range is similar to the European one, with the addition of a special family which derives from a common platform (called "Project 178"):Palio,Siena,Palio Weekend andStrada.
Fiat re-entered the North American market in 2011 with the newFiat 500.
In 1908, the Fiat Automobile Co. was established in the United States with a factory inPoughkeepsie, N.Y.,[39][40] began producing Fiats a year later, like theFiat 60 HP and theFiat 16-20 HP.[14] These were luxury cars.[41] The New Jersey factory was closed after the U.S. enteredWorld War I in 1917.[42]
Fiat returned to North America in the 1950s, selling the original 500,Fiat 600 Multipla,Fiat 1100,Fiat 1200,[43] and theFiat 1300 from 1961. Models produced from the 1960s onward include theFiat 124 Sport Spider and theFiat X1/9 - these two sporting cars remained rather successful in the United States market, which took nearly sixty percent of the total production in 1980.[44][45][46] Fiat gained a reputation for selling poor quality cars in North America, mostly over rust and poor reliability.[47] The last new Fiat model to be introduced in North America during this era was theStrada, in February 1979.[48] Sales in the US fell accordingly, from a high of 100,511 cars in 1975 to 14,113 in 1982.[45] Accordingly, Fiat left the United States car market in 1983, although the Spider and the X1/9 continued to be sold in small numbers with Pininfarina and Bertone badging respectively.[49]
In January 2009, theFiat Group acquired a 20% stake in US automakerChrysler LLC.[50] The deal saw the return of the Fiat brand to North America after a 25-year absence. The first Fiat-branded model to appear was the internationally popularFiat 500 city car. The Fiat 500 model is built at Chrysler's assembly plant in Toluca, Mexico, which currently makes also theDodge Journey andFiat Freemont crossovers.[51] Fiat is also selling their commercial vehiclesFiat Ducato andFiat Doblò in North America, rebranded as Ram ProMaster and Ram ProMaster City respectively.
FIAT discontinued production of the Fiat 500 in 2019 while sales of leftover dealer stock continued into 2020.[52] FIAT also discontinued the 124 spider and 500L models in 2020.[53] FIAT announced a new car will be released; a plug-in 500e to launch in 2024.[54]
Fiat passenger cars began assembly in South Africa in 1950, and full production in their Rosslyn plant commenced in 1966.[55] Sales reached a peak market share of about five percent around 1970 but then dropped precipitously. A new128-based half-ton pickup truck helped turn the situation around.[56]
It also assembled in Egypt through El-Nasr Automotive Manufacturing Company which assembled FIAT brands 125-127-128.
On 13 October 2022, Fiat Brand and theAlgerian government signed a framework agreement aimed at local production of vehicles and the development of the automotive sector in Algeria.[57][58]
Fiat's presence in the Chinese market is limited compared to its European, Japanese, Korean, and American rivals. At the beginning of 2012, Fiat was only importingFiat Bravo andFiat 500 model. However, in 2012 Fiat andGAC opened a joint venture plant to produce the first Fiat vehicle specifically developed for the Chinese market ever: theFiat Viaggio, a compact car derived from another Fiat model, theDodge Dart (in turn derived from another Fiat car, theAlfa Romeo Giulietta).
Fiat currently offers Japanese consumers the 500 in both coupe and convertible body styles, and the Panda.
Fiat was present in the Indian market from 1948 until 2019. They were last operating in a joint venture withTata Motors before going solo in 2012.
The Fiat 500 (Italian:cinquecento,Italian pronunciation:[ˌtʃiŋkweˈtʃɛnto]) 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 byDante Giacosa. Redesigned in 2007, it is currently distributed worldwide.
A-segment -Fiat New 500 All electric New 500, introduced in 2020
TheEuropean Car of the Year award has been awarded twelve times to theFiat Group over the last forty years, more than any other manufacturer. Nine of these awards were won by Fiat Automobiles models. Fiat models awarded the title:
Fiat Automobiles, one of Europe's 10 best-selling automotive brands, has for the second year running been confirmed as having the lowest average value for CO2 emissions from vehicles sold in 2008: 133.7 g/km (137.3 g/km in 2007). This was corroborated byJATO, a provider of automotive data.[60]
Fiat started the development of electric vehicles back in the mid-1970s, with theFiat X1/23 concept. In 2008, Fiat showed thePhylla concept,[61] and the Fiat Bugster concept in Brazil.[62]
Fiat joined utility companiesCemig andItaipu to develop new electric vehicles for Brazil, with production in 2009 of thePalio Weekend Electric.[63]
Fiat launched the electric500e, acompliance car, in California in 2013, but no sales were planned for Europe.[64] Fiat CEOSergio Marchionne claimed in 2014 that each one was sold at a loss of $14,000.[65]
In 2016, afterTesla had announced theModel 3 and had a high number of reservations for the electric car, Marchionne questioned whether Tesla could produce the cars and be profitable. He then stated that "if Tesla CEO Elon Musk can demonstrate that the car will be profitable at that price, I will copy the formula, add the Italian design flair, and get it to the market within 12 months."[66]
In 1971, theFiat 124 Sport Spider was prepared for theWorld Rally Championship when Abarth became involved with its production and development and from 1972 had relative success with two wins in 1972, one in 1973, and won 1st, 2nd and 3rd in the 1974 Portuguese TAP Rally.[70]
TheFiat 131 Abarth was a very successfulrally car replacing the 124. Between 1976 and 1981 the Fiat 131 won 18 World Rally Championship events,[71] resulting in winning the WRC Drivers Championship two times: in1978, and in1980, and winning the WRC Constructors Championship three times: in1977,1978, and in1980.[72]
Lancia took over the role of motorsport for the Fiat Group during the 1980s. After a long break of factory-supported entries, in 2003 aFiat Punto S1600 won the Italian Rally Championship, and in 2006 theFiat Grande Punto S2000 won the FIAEuropean Rally Championship,[73] followed by three successive wins in 2009, 2010 and 2011.
The FIAT initials were first used in the distinctivelogo form in 1901.[74] Beginning in 1931, the company began using a single red shield without a wreath. In 1968 the "rhomboid" logo (as it was known internally) was introduced which featured the FIAT initials spelled out on four interconnectedrhombuses. The rhomboid was slowly phased in during the early 1970s, although the older "laurel wreath" style FIAT badge was used to denote sporting models such as the 124 Spider, 127 Sport, X1/9, and the tuned Abarth models. A new corporate nose based on the rhomboid logo was first introduced in 1983 on the Uno, which consisted of five chrome bars inclined at an angle of 18 degrees to mirror the rhomboid, which usually appeared in reduced size at the corner of the grille.
In 1999, the wreath-style logo was reintroduced to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the company.[75]
Fiat launched its Motor Villageflagship store concept in 2006, with its Mirafiori Motor Village in Turin, followed by London's onWigmore Street in 2008[76] and Paris's on theChamps-Élysées in 2010.[77]
In 2009, BSM (theBritish School of Motoring) ended a 16-year relationship withVauxhall Motors and signed a deal with Fiat UK to swap its learner vehicle from the Vauxhall Corsa to the newFiat 500. Fiat UK was expected to supply 14,000 cars to BSM over four years in a marketing deal.[78]
^Garcí, Enrique (29 June 2007)."Ventas Mayo 2007: Brasil".es.autoblog.com (in Spanish). Archived fromthe original on 27 February 2012. Retrieved9 January 2013.
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