Little 500's a big hit

Fiat has sold out... of 500s! The cool new small car only went
on sale in Europe at the start of July – but already, this year’s entire production run has been snapped up.

The firm has received a staggering 51,000 orders from Italy, and a further 6,000 from France. As a result, it’s having to raise productivity at its factory in Tychy, Poland, to around 65,000 units a year from September to cope with the huge demand. With the 500 going on sale in the UK early next year, the news might concern British buyers. However, according to Fiat, it’s not an issue.

“There’s no suggestion at all that there will be any problems with getting cars to Britain,” said Elena Bernadelli, marketing director at Fiat. So far, the maker has received 200 orders from customers here. Fiat claims that many buyers have logged on to the firm’s new website at www.fiat.co.uk and specified their car online before placing a deposit with a dealer. And that’s without the brand even confirming a UK price for the model, which is expected to start at around £11,000.