General Fiat will suspend Panda production at Italy plant as demand falls
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General Fiat will suspend Panda production at Italy plant as demand falls
Hmm, seems as though Wee Smurf was right in this thread:
https://www.fiatforum.com/panda-iii/356292-current-waiting-times-factory-orders.html
Hopefully just a temporary blip though. Seems to tie in what my buddy was told about a four month wait for ordering a non-standard Panda Lounge (which he gave up on and ordered an Ibiza instead)
https://www.fiatforum.com/panda-iii/356292-current-waiting-times-factory-orders.html
Hopefully just a temporary blip though. Seems to tie in what my buddy was told about a four month wait for ordering a non-standard Panda Lounge (which he gave up on and ordered an Ibiza instead)
I guess in a lot of the countries where the Panda is sold, a lot of people aren't interested in buying cars much between October & December, so why stockpile loads, deteriorating at docks only to be offloaded cheap in the new year, hitting residual values in the process? In this respect the stoppage makes sense.
However, it does seem that these factories desperately need new models & Fiat Group do face a challenge of getting models to market quickly but of a standard that people will buy in reasonable numbers. The 500X is as yet an unknown quantity but their other recent launches (500L, Alfa 4C, Maserati Ghibli, Jeep Cherokee) have appeared to be decent but with flaws. Whether having model ranges consisting of just 3 or 3.5 star cars is good enough to get their workers back to work remains to be seen, but it's a very competitive market & Fiat Group brands aren't the first brand that a lot of people think of, so they have to launch pretty special cars just to get noticed amongst often inferior but traditionally bigger selling models. Have the above been those eye opening models? Probably not, save for the 4C perhaps, but that's only a limited-build model.
My final point is worker numbers. The article mentioned that that single factory has over 4000 workers? That smacks to me as FAR too many for one model, and too much even for 2 models. It looks like Fiat has tried in the past to single-handedly prop up the Italian economy - if I was them I'd be cutting serious numbers of staff - the article would suggest they blatantly have way too many.
However, it does seem that these factories desperately need new models & Fiat Group do face a challenge of getting models to market quickly but of a standard that people will buy in reasonable numbers. The 500X is as yet an unknown quantity but their other recent launches (500L, Alfa 4C, Maserati Ghibli, Jeep Cherokee) have appeared to be decent but with flaws. Whether having model ranges consisting of just 3 or 3.5 star cars is good enough to get their workers back to work remains to be seen, but it's a very competitive market & Fiat Group brands aren't the first brand that a lot of people think of, so they have to launch pretty special cars just to get noticed amongst often inferior but traditionally bigger selling models. Have the above been those eye opening models? Probably not, save for the 4C perhaps, but that's only a limited-build model.
My final point is worker numbers. The article mentioned that that single factory has over 4000 workers? That smacks to me as FAR too many for one model, and too much even for 2 models. It looks like Fiat has tried in the past to single-handedly prop up the Italian economy - if I was them I'd be cutting serious numbers of staff - the article would suggest they blatantly have way too many.
babbo_umbro
Established member
You're right on all counts. Fiat is in a bind where current employment law in Italy forces them to over-staff. The premier, Matteo Renzi, is trying hard to change things, with a law called articolo 18 but the unions, and the press, are giving him a really hard time - describing him a "Thatcher", while fogetting that - like her or loathe her - what she did formed the basis for the inward investment that has shored up the UK economy, and which Italy desperately needs. I suspect the entrenched forces will prevail and he'll introduce something ineffectual, leaving the Italian economy to deteriorate further.
On a more optimistic note - have the predictions of falling quality with Panda production moving from Poland to Naples been justified? I don't sense that this has happened.
Couldn't agree more.....
The new Jeep renegade looks like it could cause a stir....I'm definitely interested
Agree with all that.
I'd say the quality of my 4x4 is excellent. I have no experience of polish made cars so cannot compare. Suffice to say its doubtful I'd have bought my 4x4 if it wasn't made in Italy. Illogical I know! LoL
Moultoneer
Member
I've been very happy with the quality of my Trekking TA, which hasn't put
a foot wrong in 16 months and 14000 miles (apart from the unpredictable
Stop/Start system, which I blame on my not using the car very often
)I suspect a fair proportion of that huge workforce is QA inspectors
Also, both the Panda and my previous Mito had Polish-built engines-
no issues with either of them, so Fiat QA seems good at both plants.
Chris
It's a shame Italy is so behind on their economic rules and regulations. I wasn't around in the 70s but to me it's just how I imagine 70s Britain to be. They need to realise that by introducing these new regulations they could have a slice of the action that Countries like the UK have, and then they wouldn't need 4000 people employed at one Fiat factory, with half of them never at work. People are so frustrating. We're very similar in the UK though - Thatcher seems to be hated by more than she was loved by.
I really like the look of the Renegade too. It's certainly a rare masculine option in the sea of slightly feminine (500, Ypsilon), family orientated (500L, Cherokee) or very out of date (Punto) Fiat Group models. Again though, it's highest road test score I've seen so far was Car Magazine's 4 stars. Autocar gave it 3.5 stars, Auto Express 3 stars and What Car 2 stars, though I ignore What Car as they largely talk sh*t and give everything 3 stars or less unless it's a VW Group car. Hopefully the Renegade's devisive looks give it the same appeal as the Juke. The only slight worry is the pricing, which looks a bit on the steep side given that Jeep and (even more so) Chrysler are not held in massively high regard in the UK.
I've been very happy with the quality of my Trekking TA, which hasn't put
a foot wrong in 16 months and 14000 miles (apart from the unpredictable
Stop/Start system, which I blame on my not using the car very often
I suspect a fair proportion of that huge workforce is QA inspectors
Also, both the Panda and my previous Mito had Polish-built engines-
no issues with either of them, so Fiat QA seems good at both plants.
No build quality problems with my Mk1 or Mk2 Punto's (built in Melfi I believe), or my Stilo (Cassino) and the only issue on the MiTo (Mirafiori)has been a loose brake calliper bolt, but that may have been incorrectly tightened at some point since build and worked loose, I dunno.
The Parents 500 (made in Poland) has also been impeccable. The only poor show has been my Sisters MiTo, but that's more down to quality of parts (coatings peeling off interior fittings, MultiAir system failure) rather than particularly shoddy manufacture - a loose air con electrical connection, loose seat backrest adjuster and peeling exterior door handle paint is a slight worry, as was the inoperative aircon on a brand new MiTo courtesy car. However I believe Mirafiori is one of the last Italian factories going through modernisation, and with only building the (slow selling) MiTo, has been subject to a lot of stop-start manufacturing in the period our MiTo's (both 2013 models) were built.
The Panda, like the other models, only appears to show faults from a few poor quality parts (boot release, stop-start system/battery) rather than faults caused by a fundamental issue with the manufacturing quality. This temporary stoppage is a slight concern though, because of the problems I've seen on a couple of MiTo's produced since they resorted to halting production at Mirafiori on an increasing basis.
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May be good news for me from a selfish point of view.
If I wait until we get a forecast of snow, and 4x4 orders are taking months then mine will fly up in value!! That'll be the time to sell it.
I remember in 2011 the older cross going up in value £2000 in one month due to massive demand and zero availability
If I wait until we get a forecast of snow, and 4x4 orders are taking months then mine will fly up in value!! That'll be the time to sell it.
I remember in 2011 the older cross going up in value £2000 in one month due to massive demand and zero availability
babbo_umbro
Established member
Probably more like the sixties with a constant state of conflict between management and workers, with a few union activists shouting through megaphones outside factory gates. (I'm absolutely happy that there should be unions, by the way, but there must be a balance between power and responsibility on everyone's part.) The classic was a couple of years ago when Fiat's Naples plant came out on strike because a manager had said - with apparent justification - that the previous strike was called to enable the employees to watch a crucial football match (if there is such a thing).
