Fiat boosts production of 500 to 200,000 units

Fiat has increased production of its popular compact Fiat 500 to more than 200,000 units annually due to the increasing demand for fuel-efficient economy cars, said CEO Sergio Marchionne in a conference call with analysts.

Fiat is now planning on selling 195,000 units of the 500 during 2008. Originally the Italian automaker planned on selling 120,000 units by the end of this year – 94,000 units were sold in the first half of 2008. Fiat has booked a total of 230,000 dealer orders for the 500 since its introduction in July 2007 to the end of the June 2008 reporting period.

Come on Fiat, it’s about time we get the 500 in the U.S. as well. We love fuel-efficient compact cars now.

Source: Automotive News (Subscription Required)