The immediate sales success of the new four-wheel-drive Fiat Sedici is leading Fiat Auto press Suzuki to raise its share of the annual production run above its scheduled 20,000 units. The Sedici is built by Japanese carmaker Suzuki at its state-of-the-art Magyar Suzuki Kft factory at Esztergom in Hungary, with combined annual production slated at 60,000 units - a third of these destined for Fiat - with the other 40,000 to be sold by Suzuki, badged as the SX4.

The Sedici is Fiat Auto’s first entry in the compact SUV (Sport Utility Vehicle) market. In a steadily growing segment, the market share for vehicles with off-road capability has risen from 1.7% in 1992 to the current level of over 6% for the entire European fleet, and the compact SUV arena continues to attract increasing public interest. The new Fiat Sedici – Italian for sixteen, in reference to its innovative 4x4 drivetrain – represents an intelligent evolution of the all-wheel drive genre, combining genuine off-road ability with all the versatility and practicality demanded by the modern family on the move.

Styled Giorgetto Giugiaro in conjunction with Fiat Centro Stile, the new compact SUV made its international public debut at the recent Winter Olympic Games, held in Fiat’s home city of Turin in February. The new Sedici is powered by a spirited 107 bhp 1.6 litre, 16 valve petrol engine mated to a five speed manual transmission. Later this year the range will be extended by the arrival of a second powerplant – Fiat’s proven 120 bhp 1.9 Multijet turbodiesel, allied to a six-speed manual gearbox. Successfully combining SUV off-road performance with the dynamic agility of a front-wheel drive hatchback, the Fiat Sedici is fitted with a new, on-demand 4x4 system which features an electrically controlled centre differential and three driver-selected operating modes – 2WD, AUTO and LOCK – activated by a three-way transmission control rocker-switch housed in the centre console.
 

Giving a first hint that the Fiat Sedici was destined to carve out its own lucrative individual niche in a rapidly growing small, affordable SUV segment: "We already have 3,000 orders just in Italy from a production of 20,000 in the first year," revealed Fiat Brand Manager Luca De Meo during the Geneva Motor Show at the end of February - more than a month before it went on sale.

This order book had been achieved without announcing the official sale price or potential customers actually being able to test drive the car, De Meo added. "We see it as the first popular SUV, meaning that because of price, and because of the running costs it will appeal to a wide range of potential customers that today drive smaller or more compact cars. For the first time in the market they will be able to offer themselves the practicality of four wheel drive technology and convenience of SUVs with compromising on what they are used to.

Flushed by initial demand for the new Sedici, Fiat Auto is now targeting raising their quota from Suzuki by an additional 400 units per quarter, which if carried through would see production climbing to an extra 1,600 units per year. Meanwhile, another very in-demand Fiat Auto model is seeing its production increased: the new B-segment Fiat Grande Punto, Western Europe's best selling car thus far this year, is now rolling out of the giant Mirafiori assembly plant in Turin. Production from this second line is scheduled for 260 units per day, split between two shifts, employing around 1,100 workers, with each shift turning out 130 examples.