With huge demand for the new and very well-received 500 model kicking in this summer Fiat Auto Poland's factory at Tychy is breaking production records as it swiftly expands to cope with the unprecedented new demands being place upon it. During the first seven months of this year (1 January to 31 July) Tychy turned out 205,000 cars, which is 16,000 units up on the same period of last year.

This increase in production totals at Tychy is mostly down to the arrival of the 500, as just under 12,000 units were built assembled there June and July. The new model has now joined the Panda and the Seicento (now known as the 600) in being built at the factory. In fact Tychy assembled 4,794 500s in June, with this rising to 6,634 units in July. The 500 is closely based on the Panda's architecture and uses its engines and transmissions. Next year the factory will also build the next-generation Ford Ka model which has been developed over the last two years alongside the 500 project.

Of the 205,000 cars built at Tychy during the first seven months of the year, just under 12,000 as previously stated were 500s, while the bulk of production was accounted for by the Panda (167,500). The 600 saw 25,500 units being built in the first seven months. The Panda is celebrating its fourth birthday this month. The former Car of the Year award winner continues to sell robustly, and has been emboldened by the arrival of a string of popular niche models.
 

These additions to the range include the 4x4, Alessi and Cross (SUV). The most recent addition to the range, the sporty and able Panda 100 HP, was introduced on the occasion of last autumn's Paris Mondial de l'Automobile, and has been well received by the media. The Panda is thriving this year with year-on-year sales up on most major European new car markets, especially in Italy, while the A-segment winner is also being exported to markets as far away as South Africa and Chile.

For the whole of 2007, Fiat Auto Poland expects to supply approximately 366,000 cars from its Tychy factory, or 58,000 units more than in 2006. Of these, Fiat 500 production, which is already sold out for six months, will likely hit 59,000 units, along with 270,000 examples of the Panda. Significant on-going investment in the Poland plant means that in 2009, the Tychy site is set to reach a production capacity of roughly 500,000 cars per year, with its daily output expected to be close to 2,200 units.

Data courtesy of Samar