Caught testing around Gauteng this week have been a couple of very lightly disguised examples of the Fiat Novo Mille - the Brazilian-built Fiat Uno - as this cost-effective entry level Fiat Auto model gears up to arrive on the South African market and replicate the long term sales success it has achieved across South America.

The Fiat Uno - which was replaced in Europe by the Punto a decade ago - is still being built in Brazil (as well being assembled in CKD kit form in Pakistan) and more than two million examples have now rolled off the production lines at the Betim factory in Minas Gerais out of a total of more than 8.5 million units built worldwide. The Uno (known in South America as the "Mille") has been a huge sales success, proving a very cost-effective market entry-level model and in 2006 it is still top of its segment in Brazil. The Mille is also successfully exported around South America, including Argentina and Chile and a second production line is being set-up in Venezuela.

In early 2004 Fiat Centro Stile facelifted the long-running little car giving it larger headlights, a more pronounced front grille, and an interior upgrade including strengthening of the side doors, and the addition of rear seatbelts for the first time. To improve interior ergonomics while at the same time saving costs, a number of parts have been sourced from the Palio, which is also built at Betim. These include instruments, gauges, the column switch gear and heater controls.
 

Now Fiat Auto South Africa (FASA) - the regional importer - plans to introduce the Fiat Mille into South Africa. FASA has recently scored a sales hit with the new Palio eCo, a stripped-out version of the popular "World Car" family hatchback introduced into the dealerships last month to build on the success of the Palio Vibe (introduced in April) and the long-running Palio Go! model, which is positioned below the Vibe. All these cars have very successfully tapped into local market demand for highly-affordable entry-level models. With the Mille FASA will now be able to take this scenario a further stage, and with a wider sub-Saharan sales brief in their portfolio the Mille could prove to be a very suitable car to introduce to the wider region. It is also being suggested that the Mille could be assembled in South Africa as a solution to the constraints FASA has in meeting demand for locally produced vehicles.