Fiat aims to sale 230,000 Panda vehicles in 2012
By Andrew, 15 Dec, 2011. 0 Comments
2012 Fiat Panda
Fiat believes that by dropping the prices of the existing and new generations of the Panda to below those of the Volkswagen Up, it will be able to achieve sales of 230,000 units next year. The Panda is the No. 1 minicar in Europe. When interviewed by Automotive News Europe, Gianni Coda, Fiat's chief operating office for Europe, Middle East and Africa, said that the new Panda will account for 180,000 to 190,000 units of 2012 sales and the rest will come from Classic models. The new Panda is set to start selling in Europe next February with a starting price of 10,200 euros.
The starting price of the current-generation Panda, which will be known as the Panda Classic, is 8,500 euros in Italy. This represents a drop from the today's starting price of 10,250 euros. Since 2004, the Panda kept its title as the segment leader. However, the VW Up, which is priced from 10,600 euros in Italy, is a major threat. If Fiat is able to achieve the 2012 target it has set for the Panda models, these two versions will almost match the minicar's total European sales in 2010.
Market researcher JATO Dynamics said that from the start of the year through September, Panda’s sales had fallen by 22% to 140,285 units in Europe. The current Panda (the second generation) peaked in 2009 with sales of 299,992 units. At this time, Europe had offered incentives for small cars, resulting to a steep rise in the demand for minicars. The new Panda is rounder and at 3640mm, it is longer by 110mm. Majority of the length is attributed to the rear, widening the trunk space and giving more legroom to passengers at the back. For the first time, the Panda features rear sliding seats. [source: Autonews]
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