FIAT

Fiat is a brand that has a 110 year history behind it. Founded in 1899 at Palazzo Bricherasio, Fiat then opened its first automobile factory in 1900 in Corso Dante. The instantly recognisable Fiat brand logo was designed and adopted in 1904. The Fiat brand has always believed in excellence and it expanded its services out of Italy in 1908 when it established the Fiat Automobile Company in the USA.

Fiat has always believed in innovation and has proved so by constantly renovating its production. They started with cars fitted with electrical accumulators for the first time; then moved on to using the Cardan transmission, a Fiat patent; creating the Balilla with an extremely low fuel consumption; coming out with the Topolino, which was produced till 1995, and numerous other such innovations. Fiat has branched out into the commercial sector through the steel industry, railway industry and electricity and transportation lines.

The two world wars drastically affected the production and distribution of cars but Fiat bounced back, more powerful after the setbacks. The Lingotto and Marafiori factories are its two biggest production sources, and have become the emblems of the Fiat industry the world over.

Fiat was one of the first car manufacturers to install heating and ventilation systems in mass produced cars. In 1951 Fiat also created the first Italian jet aircraft, the G80. A pioneer in all fields, Fiat also led the road to automation by creating and installing the Robogate system for assembling bodywork.

Ferrari was taken over by Fiat with a 50% shareholding in 1969, thus ensuring Fiat a concrete and permanent position in the Italian car manufacturing industry. It also took over Alfa Romeo in 1984 and moved on to acquire Maserati, a sports car brand, in 1993. The brand also has many independent companies which carry forward the Fiat name, namely, Fiat Ferroviaria, Fiat Avio, Fiat Trattori, Fiat Engineering, Comau, Teksid and Magneti Marelli.

The Fiat Panda was one of its most popular models. It started production in 1980 and two years after this the Fiat Uno was born. This model went on to become Fiat’s symbol of auto renewal because it featured sweeping changes in engineering and electronics. It was Fiat’s first clean car and used the 1000 fire engine. 1989 saw the birth of the Fiat Tipo, a car with revolutionary technical solutions. The Fiat Punto, voted car of the year for 1995 started production in 1993. The Fiat Ulysse which came out in 1994 saw Fiat break into another progressively expanding sector of car manufacturing, that of the SUV. The Fiat Bravo and Brava came out in 1995 and 1997 was the year of the Fiat Palio.

Cesare Romiti took over as the Chief Operating Officer of the company in 1996 and under him the company rose to greater heights that before. It earned 60% of its revenue from sales outside Italy and then moved into the new century with a new look for the brand logo and the brand. To keep up with competition and to maintain its market standing Fiat rebranded itself to a brand that stands for “innovation and avant-garde solutions to technological problems.”

2000 and the years after that have signalled a busy time for Fiat. 2004 saw the new Fiat Panda 4×4; the new Croma and the Grande Punto came out in 2005; the new Doblo and Sedici rang in 2006 and the new Fiat Bravo completed the package with its entry on 2007.

Fiat has always stood for innovation and creativity. Integrity has been its core value and will continue to be. Fiat as a brand enjoys a lot of loyalty and it doesn’t look like this will change in the near future.

- Ayesha Sruti Ahmed

Tags: fiat, fiat automobiles, fiat cars, history of fiat

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