NF500 / order books

During 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.

Fiat have taken over 40,000 orders for the new 500 from it’s Italian dealers since order books officially opened at the beginning of June, reports Forbes Today.

Considering initial forecasts are for 58,000 Fiat 500s to be produced in 2007, and with predictions for 2008 total production already raised from 120,000 units to 150,000, you have to think that Fiat have already got a hit on their hands.

Now the careful juggling act becomes even trickier, as Fiat must consider the balance of supply and demand.  The possibility of delaying the launch of the new 500 in other markets has already been touted as a possibility if Italian hunger for the new model exceeds expectations, and then of course there are the pure logistical constraints at the plant in Poland, where further vehicles from both Fiat and production partner Ford will be in production next year.

On the other hand, Fiat must avoid over compensating in case the initial demand proves to be a fast bursting bubble, or if quality, which Fiat are pushing as paramount in their new ideology, and of which the Fiat 500 is the embodiment of, were to suffer at the expense of quantity.

Still, it’s a nice problem to have.  It’s incredible to think that just over 50 years ago there were only 40,000 registered vehicles on the roads of Italy.  The 500 certainly helped change that landscape first time around, and while the new 500 has much more modest ambitions, the initial impact has nonetheless been impressive.