The one-millionth example of the third generation Fiat Panda has rolled off the production line at the G. Vico Pomigliano d'Arco plant near Naples, the milestone being achieved after almost six years of production. It’s been Italy’s best-selling car since 2012 and led its segment in Europe since last year.
Going to a buyer in Italy, the record-achieving car is a City Cross 1.2 69 HP with a white paint finish.
In total over 7.5 million Pandas have been produced since 1980 when the model was launched (this 1 million record refers to the third generation, which was launched at the end of 2011). The first generation model was phased out across Europe in 1996 but its production, mainly for domestic market consumption, continued at Mirafiori, Italy, until 2003. The second generation model, assembled at the Tychy facility in Poland, ran from 2003-2012, while the current, third generation Panda, which saw production returning to Italy, debuted at the Frankfurt IAA in the autumn of 2011 before going into full production a couple of months later.
The Panda has been a leader in the introduction of technological firsts in A-segment. For instance, in 1983 the Panda 4x4 was the first all-wheel drive city car and in 1986 it was the first of its size to fit a diesel engine. In 2004, Fiat Panda was the first car in its segment to be named ‘Car of the Year’. The same year, it was the first city car ever to reach the Mount Everest base camp at 5,200 metres of elevation.
The records continued in 2006, when Fiat Panda became the first mass produced methane-fuelled city car. Since it was launched, year after year it has been the best-selling methane-fuelled car in Italy and also in Europe, cumulatively since 2007. The 300,000-unit milestone was reached last February, a record among methane-fuelled cars. Like all other Fiat methane-fuelled models, the Panda CNG is already biomethane compatible.
The current version is the only car in its segment to offer four engine versions (petrol, diesel, petrol/methane and petrol/LPG), three configurations (Urban look, City Cross and 4x4), two drive layouts (front and all-wheel) and two transmissions (manual and Dualogic robotised).
The Vico Pomigliano d'Arco plant where the car is made has won several important awards since it was totally refurbished to make the Panda in 2011. In 2012, the plant earned a Silver award in the World Class Manufacturing certification programme, as well as the Automotive Lean Production Award as Best in Europe. Just a year later in 2013, and still within the WCM programme, the plant was certified at Gold level.
A new international accolade was obtained in 2014: the Lean and Green Management Award, a testament to the progress made in optimising all the ‘resources’ needed to make cars, while today, the G. Vico plant continues its drive to reduce the environmental impact of production via continuous improvements, including responsible consumption of energy and water, and quality air and waste management.
