The new Fiorino is the latest addition in the renovation of the Fiat Professional range with which the brand aims at achieving new goals in the coming years. It is not by chance therefore that during the first eight months of 2007, Fiat Professional has achieved a historical record in sales both in Italy and Europe. In fact, according to initial estimates, sales were 184 thousand units, 24 thousand more compared to the same period in 2006. In particular, in Germany, Fiat Professional reached 12.4% of market share with 25,500 sales (growth of 1.1 percentage points compared to 2006); in France it reached 7.7% market share with 24,500 units (+1.6 percentage points); in Spain, it reached 9.2% of market share with over 17,000 sales (+1.6 percentage points).

With regards to Italy, during the two-month period July-August, about 13,000 deliveries of Fiat Professional (8,683 in July and 4.240 in August) made for a growth in terms of volumes equal to about 12% compared to last year, and to attain a market share of 42.6% in July and 41.1% in August. All main models contributed to this result: Doblò Cargo (3487 deliveries, + 18% in 2006), Ducato (4055 + 19%) and mainly Nuovo Scudo (1760 and + 65%), which is also particularly appreciated in Panorama versions for passenger transport.

Considering the period between January-August, the Fiat Professional vehicles delivered in Italy were over 66,000, as in 2006. This is an excellent result, also because during the same period last year, sales were supported by an important contract to supply a public administration department. During the first eight months, the light commercial vehicle most sold in Italy was as usual the Fiat Ducato which, with a total of 24,000 deliveries, improved by over 5,000 units the result of the same period in 2006. Excellent also the performance of the Scudo which up to last August had reached about 27,000 orders against the 15,500 of the previous model (+74%).
 

The results of Major Markets are particularly important: Italy (7,500 orders), France (4,000), Spain (3,400) and Germany (3,300). In these Countries, Fiat Scudo posted a good growth of market share, from 5.1% to 7.5% in its own segment. Finally, progress was made in the development of sales of passenger transport versions, which today represent about 35% of the sales against 23% in 2006.

In addition to the excellent results of the aforementioned markets, Fiat Professional is consolidating its position in other Countries and starting trading in a structured manner, also in other countries. For example, in Romania, the share is 25%, 3% in Israel, while in Algeria, during the first eight months of the year, the brand has quintupled its own volume reached throughout 2006. And also: in Turkey, Ducato will exceed 5,000 units a year for the first time, while in Australia the share is of about 10%. Moreover, Fiat Professional aims at developing in nearby Countries – such as those of the Mediterranean area - and also further afield in Mexico, Chile and Hong Kong.

Based on these excellent sales results, Fiat Professional will attend the “2007 Transpotec Logitec” with lots of vehicles, both standard and derivatives, all equipped with a specific upholstery solutions realized in collaboration with SALT, a company specialized in outfitting show cars and special vehicles, this being the best way of proving our capability to interpret the real needs of customers in order to meet their expectations.