Success at home should not delay international Fiat 500 release
August 3rd, 2007During a broad ranging conversation held with Fiat UK head of marketing Peter Newton this week, NF500 sought clarification and reassurance for eager fans regarding the release schedule of the new Fiat 500 in the UK and other markets.
This all began with reports that the phenomenal success of the new 500 in it’s début markets of Italy and France, were orders have exceeded 60,000 cars, would lead to the rest of the World waiting longer as the factory in Tychy struggles to meet demand. Potential 500 customers have understandably gotten twitchy with this news, wondering if their agonising wait could be further delayed by the veracious appetite of continental consumers.
The good news is that everything is on track for a release early next year, and while country specific allocations may be reshuffled and reassessed to best meet demand (as is common practice in the automotive industry) there is no reason to believe that those who have already managed to place themselves on priority lists at their local Fiat dealer should be waiting any longer than expected.
While discussing pre-orders and waiting lists, Mr Newton suggested that order books for UK Fiat 500 customers are likely to open “not before October” of 2007, by which time prices and specifications for the UK market should all be settled and in place, ready for launch. But many dealers already have lists of customers keen to get their hands on Fiat’s new baby as soon as possible, many taking small deposits to ensure you’re ahead of the queue when the books officially open on the reborn 500.
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August 3rd, 2007 at 8:24 am
Excellent. (Peter Newton used to be the Public Relations honcho for Fiat in the UK.)
Did he mention whether they’ve sneaked any LHD 500s into the UK either for ‘the trade’ to look at, or to use as ’static demonstrators’?