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, Egypt, Ethiopia and Turkey. The
AutoVAZ state works
Lada products in Tolyatti (Togliatti), Russia, were Fiat based, as were
SEAT products of Spain. Lada is now 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 1917.
United States The American FIAT Automobile Company was founded by American licensees in 1909 as a response to 45 percent tariffs on imported automobiles. American FIAT focused on the larger and more luxurious end of the range, with the smaller Types 51 and 52 (
Tipo 1 and 2) only available to order as fully built-up imports. The first model offered was the Type 54, corresponding to the European
Tipo 4. This has a four-cylinder engine (itself called "Tipo 54A") and rode on a wheelbase; it was manufactured until 1914 or 1915. This was joined by the large and expensive Type 56 in 1912, a seven-passenger touring car reserved for the American market. This model has a six-cylinder version of the Type 54 engine, displacing and mounted in a chassis with a wheelbase. In 1913 the Type 55 arrived (although some Type 55s appear to have been sold in 1912), slightly shorter than the Type 56 with a wheelbase but with a massive four-cylinder engine. This car was largely identical to the European
Tipo 5 and was also manufactured for export. In 1914 the fourth and final American Fiat was introduced, the smaller Type 53 – the equivalent of the Italian
Tipo 3 Ter. This has a four-cylinder engine and a wheelbase. The Tipo 53 was built until 1916, while the 55 and 56 were manufactured until 1917, although late 55s seem to have been sold as "1918s" and they did appear in new-car catalogues that year. Fiat Italy took over the American operation in 1917 and reduced the lineup to the Type 55, now sitting on a wheelbase.
NACC tax horsepower figures were 30 hp for the Type 54, 45 for the Type 56, 42 for the Type 55, and 25 hp for the Type 53. Actual outputs were higher, ranging from for the Type 53 to for the big Types 55 and 56. The building went on to serve various functions, being part of the
Marist College campus for a while, and was torn down in 1997. began making automobiles in Brazil in 1976 beginning with the production of the
Fiat 147, the Brazilian version of the Italian
Fiat 127, produced until 1986. More than 10,000,000 units have been produced in Fiat Automóveis factory in
Betim since 1976, plus 232,807 units in the Fiat Argentina plant of
Córdoba. The original factory, located in the city of
Belo Horizonte, cost $250 million to build. The state of
Minas Gerais had a 10–20% stake in the company and also provided special economic benefits to Fiat. Launched in July 1979, the 147 was the first mass-produced car that ran on
ethanol 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
cachaça) because it had the scent of that Brazilian drink. 1.4, a
multifuel car that runs as a
flexible-fuel on gasoline,
E20-E25 gasohol, ethanol (
E100); or as a
bi-fuel with
CNG In October 1984 Fiat Automóveis introduced the
Fiat Uno, which continued on sale until the end of 2013 as the renamed Fiat Mille, resulting in total production of 3.6 million vehicles. Production of the
Fiat Palio world car began in 1996. After the successful 2003 introduction of
flexible-fuel vehicles in the Brazilian market, Fiat Automóveis launched its first flex model in March 2004, the
Fiat Palio, followed by the
Siena 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 fuel, a four-fuel car developed under
Magneti Marelli of Fiat Brazil. This automobile can run as a
flex-fuel 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). The Siena Tetrafuel was engineered to switch from any gasoline-ethanol blend to CNG automatically, depending on the power required by road conditions.
Argentina Fiat has been present in Argentina since the beginning of the 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. The company was known as Fiat-Concord until 1980. In 1959 the construction of a car plant in
Caseros was approved, and 1960 saw the production there of the first Argentinian produced Fiat passenger car, a
Fiat 600, after the
Fiat 1100 Export and after in 1963 the
Fiat 1500. In 1977 the Fiat 133 appeared; this was a rebadged
SEAT 133, built in Argentina. By 1978 a car manufacturing facility was well established in
Córdoba, producing
Fiat 128s as well as two models which from the Italian perspective belonged in earlier decades, the
125 (with some derivates) and the
600R. In 1980 a joint venture with
PSA called
Sevel Argentina was begun, which lasted until 1995. The current day automobile manufacturing started with a new factory opened in
Córdoba 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.
Serbia Its first enterprise came in 1955, when it agreed to a deal with
Yugoslav carmaker
Zastava to assemble Fiats for Eastern Europe. The first cars produced by Zastava were its versions of the
Fiat 1300 and
Fiat 1400. By 1970, Zastava was producing parts for the newer
Fiat 124 and
Fiat 125 models, which were assembled in Poland. The
Zastava 750, launched in 1962, was Zastava's version of the iconic
Fiat 600 minicar. 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 and several European countries under the Yugo brand during the 1980s. The most famous product launched by Zastava is the
Zastava 101, a front-wheel drive car based on the
Fiat 128, also available as a
hatchback version never sold in Italy. With the demise of the
Zastava 750 in 1981, the minicar gap in the Zastava range was filled by the
Zastava Koral, which was best known in Britain and America as the Yugo Tempo or Yugo 45/55. It was based on the 1971
Fiat 127, which was due to be replaced by the
Fiat Uno in 1983. 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
Kragujevac was later bombed, but was rebuilt after the war ended, and production continued at another factory in
Kragujevac. In 1987 Zastava came up with a new car design. The
Zastava Florida — also known as a Yugo, and in other markets as the Yugo Sana – was styled by
Giorgetto Giugiaro at the
ItalDesign studio, later featured a range of more modern
Peugeot engines. 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 10 model was another Fiat design—this time the second generation
Punto, and in 2009 was renamed Fiat Punto Classic A new memorandum of understanding between Fiat and the Serb ministry of economic and regional development about the acquisition of Zastava's Kragujevac plant in 2008 led to a new company being set up in which the Italians would have a 70 percent stake and the Serb government 30 percent. The factory was renamed from Zastava Automobili Srbija to
Fiat Automobili Srbija. In 2010 and 2011, Fiat Automobili Srbija underwent large-scale reconstruction for production of the
Fiat 500L in 2012.
Poland Fiat automobiles have been made in Poland since 1920. In 1932, the
Polskie Zakłady Inżynieryjne (Polish Engineering Works, PZInż) started the production of
Fiat 508, produced until 1939 also as a military vehicle. In 1936 the licence was extended to include the
Fiat 518 model. In 1965, the Polish communist government signed a deal with Fiat to produce selected Fiat models in Poland at the
FSO factory in
Warsaw that had been built in 1951. Production of the new car—the
Polski Fiat 125p—began in 1967. It was visually identical to the
Fiat 125, 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. 1978 saw the appearance of a new five-door hatchback, the
FSO Polonez, that made use of Fiat 125p
running gear. After 1982, Fiat withdrew its licence; since then FSO badge was reinstated with the
Polski Fiat 125p surviving until 1991, and the Polonez production ending in 2002. FSO was taken over by
Daewoo of South Korea in 1995, and become independent again in late 2000, after Daewoo went bankrupt and was taken over by General Motors.
Fabryka Samochodów Małolitrażowych (FSM) in
Bielsko-Biała and
Tychy was a joint venture between FSO and Fiat, and manufactured the
Fiat 126(p) in 1973 and the
Cinquecento in 1991. In 1992 Fiat owned 90% of FSM (called Fiat Auto Poland, since 1993) and since then it produced
Cinquecento,
Uno,
Seicento,
Siena and
Palio Weekend models with the capacity up to 200.000 cars a year. In 2003, FSM become the sole producer of
Fiat Panda, and in 2007, the
Fiat 500 and the related
Ford Ka. Capacity was increased with production reaching over 600,000 in 2009, but dropped below 300,000 in 2013, resulting in the workforce being cut by a third.
Russia In 1966 Fiat helped
USSR state industries build a new car factory (
AvtoVAZ) on the
Volga river. A planned city called
Tolyatti (named after
Palmiro Togliatti, former
Italian Communist Party Secretary) was developed around the factory, which started producing a "people's car" similar to the
Volkswagen Beetle and
Citroën 2CV of Germany and France. The new Soviet car, called the
Lada, was a more spacious offering, in
four-door saloon and
five-door estate variants. Fiat installed British machine tools supplied by Herbert-BSA of
Birmingham 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 sold well owing to their low price. This car was upgraded to become the
Lada Riva (marketing name in some markets) in 1980. Lada has gone on to develop some of its own models. The
four-wheel drive Lada Niva uses some Fiat based components, e.g. engine and gearbox, but the body and four-wheel drive system are VAZ designs.
Bulgaria 1967–1971 produced
Pirin-Fiat in
Lovech, Bulgaria.
Turkey TOFAŞ Türk Otomobil Fabrikası A.Ş. is joint venture owned by Fiat S.p.A. and
Koç Holding A.Ş. (37.8% Fiat Group Automobiles S.p.A., 37.8% Koç Holding A.Ş. and 24.3% others). The Fiat 124 was produced under licence by TOFAŞ as the
TOFAŞ Murat. This was replaced by a version of the
Fiat 131, known as the
TOFAŞ Şahin. Today the
Fiat Egea car is among those manufactured by the Fiat-Tofas joint venture in Turkey, and the company has 12.1% of the Turkish car market as of 2007.
Spain In Spain,
SEAT S.A. was established with Fiat S.p.A. 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
Volkswagen AG and by the end of 1986 after a purchase of a majority stake SEAT had become part of the Volkswagen Group. However, production of some Fiat-based models continued, ending with the Fiat-based
Marbella in 1998.
Ethiopia The
Fiat 131, known as the
Holland Car Plc DOCC.
Egypt Following the
Egyptian Revolution of 1952, President
Gamal Abdel Nasser ordered the EGID (General Intelligence Agent) to establish a state owned automobile company.
El Nasr Automotive Manufacturing Company was founded in 1960 in Helwan, Egypt. It began producing some Fiat based models, but later produced the
TOFAŞ Şahin under license by Tofaş. The last Fiat 128 model was built in 2008, while the Şahin is still in production in Egypt. Currently the El-Mashreq Company, a part of the Seoudi Group is the main manufacturer of Alfa Romeo and Fiat vehicles for the Egyptian market. Arab American Vehicles (AAV) also manufactured Fiats in Egypt. They assembled the
Fiat Ritmo at the behest of Nasr.
India Fiat India Automobiles Private Limited is a joint venture between Fiat S.p.A. and
Mumbai based
Tata Motors Limited, founded in 1997. Fiat builds the
Palio Stile, Linea and
Punto. The Fiat plant is situated in Ranjangaon near Pune in Maharashtra and also manufactures the
Tata Indica. Although not a subsidiary of Fiat,
Premier Automobiles Limited of Mumbai was licensed to manufacture versions of the
Fiat 500 for the Indian market. This was followed by the
Fiat 1100 in 1954. In 1973, the Fiat label was replaced with the Premier name. Premier built the Fiat 1100 and 124 into the 21st century; after a brief attempt at building the
Uno in the early years of the 21st century, the companies severed their ties.
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 the
Fiat Uno. The production facility is located in Landhi Industrial Area,
Karachi, Pakistan.
Sri Lanka In 1973 entrepreneur
Upali Wijewardene's Upali Motor Company began assembly of the local variant of Fiat 128, known as UMC-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 Siena, Bbeokgugi (owl)—based on the
Fiat Doblò.
China Fiat entered into a 50:50 joint venture with
GAC Group in 2010 to create
GAC Fiat Automobiles Co., Ltd., with a factory in Changsha completed in 2012 producing a localised version of the
Dodge Dart sold as the Fiat Viaggio. ==See also==