The new Fiat Ducato has driven Fiat Commercial Vehicle sales in Australia up by more than 26 percent in 2007, with the new Ducato accounting for 768 of the 971 Fiat commercial vehicles delivered.

The new Fiat Ducato has driven Fiat Commercial Vehicle sales in Australia up by more than 26 percent in 2007, with the new Ducato accounting for 768 of the 971 Fiat commercial vehicles delivered in Australia during 2007 in figures released today by VFACTS, but this is just the launch pad for 2008, with the Italian company planning a range of launches for 2008 that will set it on course for nearly doubling its sales this year.

“The new Ducato has been an outstanding success for us in Australia,” says Chris Swann, General Manager for Fiat Commercial Vehicles in Australia. “Not only have the excellent qualities of the vehicle proven extremely attractive to our key business users and motor home builders, the increased size range and conversion flexibility has enabled converters to expand their Fiat Ducato-based ranges. But in 2008 we will further expand the Ducato range and add new models to our Australian range and these will enable us to almost double our 2007 sales figure in 2008.”

The first new model to arrive will be the automatic versions of the Fiat Ducato, fitted with the advanced MTA gearbox, which will provide the performance and economy of a manual with the ease of use of an automatic. This gearbox will have a significant affect on the motorhome business where the combination of manual gearbox economy for long distance touring, performance for carrying and towing loads and automatic gearbox ease of use will be extremely attractive.

Later in the year Fiat plan to extend its range downward with the award winning Fiat Scudo medium sized van, which will provide Fiat with a class leading vehicle in the medium van sector, the largest van sector in the Australia market. This will be followed at the end of the year by the arrival of the Fiat Fiorino, which will contest the small/bonneted van market, which is expanding rapidly in Australia as more companies look for compact urban delivery vehicles that also offer a stylish and dynamic on-the-road image for their company.