The additional the production break, which Fiat claims will prevent "the costly accumulation of vehicles," is set to take place from 20-31 August at the factory located near Naples which only started to produce the new Panda earlier this year, the A-segment car being switched from Poland after a protracted battle with the unions at the former Alfa Romeo plant over signing up to new contracts to ensure its future.

"The crisis in car sales shows no sign of ending," Fiat in a statement. "The Italian market, which is now back at levels last seen in 1979, is penalising Fiat, especially in the city car segment where the Group owns 60 percent of the market with its Panda and 500 models."

The new Panda has arrived at a highly competitive time for European sales, while Fiat brand has seen its sales fall by 17.5 percent across the continent (EU27+EFTA) over the first half of the year to 327,647 units while last month they fell 17.9 percent. The third generation Panda also received a perceived blow when it was only  awarded a 4 Star EuroNCAP safety rating late last year while, essentially an evolutionary design, it has faced increased competition in A-segment particularly from VW's up! and its SEAT and Skoda spin-offs.

In Italy, where the new Panda sees the bulk of its sales, its volumes are keeping roughly inline with last year when the second-generation model was still on sale. Pomigliano d'Arco could also face further production halts as Fiat added yesterday: "In coming months the situation will be continually monitored."