The one millionth new Fiat Panda rolled off the production lines of Fiat Auto Poland in Tychy today. Destined for the Italian market, the car is a ‘cheeky’ red 4x4 mounting a 1.2 petrol engine.

In detail, 82,292 units have been produced to date for the Polish market while 917,708 units have been exported to 68 countries, all over Europe but also to Japan, Australia, South Africa, Venezuela, Guadalupe and Martinique.

Production began in the Tychy plant in south Poland in May 2003, while the first car went on the market in mid-September of that year. Its extraordinary success soon made it European sales leader in its segment. A commercial success endorsed by the numerous prizes assigned by readers and trade journalists, including the prestigious Car of The Year 2004. On the back of all this acclaim, the new Fiat Panda has seen constantly significant demand levels which has meant a growth in output from year to year: from 86,046 units (of the second half of 2003) to the 262.178 units in 2006, for 2007 270,000 cars have been programmed.

One of the most up-to-date car factories in Europe, Fiat Auto Poland of Tychy produces the Panda, the 600 and the just-out Fiat 500. Its industrial excellence is confirmed by the prestigious prizes it has obtained: Polish Prize for Quality and EFQM (European Foundation for Quality Management) finalist.

At the moment 4,200 people are employed by Fiat Auto Poland and 1,400 cars are produced at the plant every day. In 2007 an output of 366,000 has been programmed (58,000 more than 2006) of which 351,000 are earmarked for export. Finally, the investment in the production start-up of the new Fiat 500, has led to a total of 500 new people being hired at the Tychy plant.