The 12th
Beijing International Auto Show this week marks a key
milestone in Fiat’s newest attempt to enter the Chinese
market, as it sets the stage for the world premiere of
the vital new Viaggio sedan, along with the presentation
of other models from its range.
GAC Fiat (GAC being
the acronym for Guangzhou Automobile Company), Fiat’s
latest Chinese domestic partner, is showing off the Fiat
500 by Gucci and 500C on its stand, which will arrive
CBU in very limited numbers, as well as the Fiat
Freemont minivan. Most attention will, however, be
focused on the Viaggio (its Chinese name Fei Xiang
meaning flying), which will drive Fiat’s latest
challenge to catch up in the world’s biggest car market.
Thanks to
Fiat-Chrysler Group’s technology and Guangzhou
Automobile Group’s long experience in the Chinese
market, GAC Fiat has been growing in the two years since
its establishment, and hopes to become an emerging force
in the Chinese auto industry. GAC Fiat is building the
new world-class manufacturing plant in Changsha, in the
Hunan province, set to be among the best in the world in
terms of facilities, logistics, management and
production systems. At present, the plant construction
and facility installation is on schedule, ready for the
roll-off of the Viaggio at the end of June 2012. Two
years after GAC Fiat’s establishment, 91 dealers and 125
showrooms have opened across the country, although some
are carryovers from the last joint venture.
After releasing a
series of teaser images ten days ago, Fiat has today
presented full images of the Viaggio, which will lead
out its new stab at Chinese production. The new
four-door, five-seat sedan is effectively a Dodge Dart
with new front and rear clips, plus some technical
changes to cut costs for this market. The Dart is based
on the CUSW (Compact US Wide) architecture. The CUSW
architecture is, in turn, derived from the C-Evo
architecture originally developed for the Alfa Romeo
Giulietta, a framework that enables the Italians and the
Americans to share technologies and components.
The photos show that
Fiat Centro Stile hasn't expended too much effort to
differentiate the Viaggio from the Dart. The front
sports a new style of grille, as Fiat’s designers take a
fresh shot at evolving a family identity (a theme that
is reflected on the new Linea facelift), located inside
a new bumper. There are new foglights, although the
chrome effect surround (standard from the entry-level
version) appears to be somewhat out of proportion. The
front wings are unchanged, as are the headlights. The
sides likewise remain untouched, while at the rear, the
Dart’s signature full-width tail-light unit is replaced
with two separate LED-equipped units that should go some
way to tackling the U.S. sedan’s overt domestic-market
bias. The registration plate is also moved, to sit in a
redesigned bumper. Inside, the cabin is pretty much
unchanged from the Dart.
Measuring 4,679 mm in
length, 1,850 mm in overall width and with a 2,708 mm
wheelbase, the Viaggio gets Fiat’s 1.4-litre T-Jet
engine in both 120 HP and 150 HP guises, coupled to a
6-speed dual dry clutch transmission or 5-speed manual
transmission.
As the first
Fiat-Chrysler joint project, the Fiat Viaggio will be
produced in the new GAC Fiat production plant in
Changsha, in the Hunan province. The new production
plants implements World Class Manufacturing standards, a
way of working that all Fiat and Chrysler plants
worldwide have embraced in order to minimise accidents,
defects, stocks and breakdowns.
