Cars from Italy to Russia are valued, first of all, for their elegance and practicality. Italian roots are clearly visible in the largest Russian manufacturer AvtoVAZ. Tolyatti VAZ-2101 is actually a Fiat 124, well known in Italy.
In this article, we will consider the issues of Fiat models of the Russian assembly and recall a little the history of the brand. How good and popular are Fiats in Russia? What cars from Italy are going to Russia? We will also analyze the main advantages and disadvantages.
Fiat and associations
What comes to mind first when you hear Fiat? The musical sound immediately says that the country of origin of Fiat is Italy. In fact, the history of this famous company is closely connected with the history of Russia. Something always attracted Italian manufacturers to Russian open spaces. And it is not for nothing that the first VAZ car is a pure Italian.
It is surprising that over the next time, “Fiat” did not gain a foothold with us. Yes, there was a collaboration with Sollers. But it did not last and did not grow into something more. Already in 2011, cooperation, which lasted 5 years, ceased. During this time, the production of "local" Fiat Albea, Fiat Doblo and Fiat Ducato was established. The manufacturing process of automobiles was reduced to the assembly of finished units brought from abroad. At the same time, the cars of our assembly sold well and were very popular.
The Italian manufacturers of Fiat are not discouraged and are boldly building prospects for cooperation. Most often, in their ambitious proposals, the figures for the production of cars about 500 thousand a year and at the newly built factory are heard.
A bit of history
The history of the company began back in 1899 in the city of Torino, in northern Italy. In the first Fiat car, the driver sat in the back, and the passengers in front. Management was carried out using levers. The steering wheel appeared later. Since 1911, the company has been trying itself in the production of racing cars. The successful release of S76 allowed us to continue and develop this area.
The desire to develop and experiment led Fiat to create a vast empire. Today, Fiat is a manufacturer of not only cars of all types and purposes, but also aircraft, trains and engines for ships of different displacement and purpose.
And then, back in the last century, the company took on any undertakings. During the war, Fiat mastered the production of aircraft, tanks and armored vehicles. Since the late 60s, Fiat has become a corporation, which includes Ferrari, Lanchia, Alfa Romeo and Maserati.
In 1999, Fiat celebrated its centenary. Today, the global machinery manufacturing concern is hardly decrepit. Over a century of continuous development, Fiat has been tempered and given a good boost. New concepts are constantly being designed and modern cars are put into operation. More than 130 research centers around the world are actively helping.
Main production facilities
In modern reality, the size of the Fiat Corporation is impressive. Under a common wing is more than 1000 companies in 61 countries around the world. The number of Fiat employees is about 220 thousand, of which half work outside the borders of Italy. In percentage terms, about 46% of all production capacity is located outside the homeland.
Fiat has its own plants in Brazil, Argentina and Poland. At the same time, the Brazilian production site is the largest. At maximum load, the car factory is capable of issuing 3,000 cars a day! The country of origin of Fiat is not only Italy. There are many joint ventures in France, Egypt, South Africa, Turkey, China, and India. Collaboration is built differently everywhere. Somewhere, as it was in Russia, there is only assembly from nodes imported from Italy, and somewhere at one factory they can assemble both Fiat and local equipment.
The concern plans to expand further into the markets of Africa, Europe and America. After all, the main concept was and remains so that as many people as possible join the most advanced technologies thanks to Fiat cars.
Model range "Fiat"
Production of Russian Fiat was discontinued in 2011. Since then, the new Doblo, Albea and Ducato will not be able to buy. What can please Fiat Russians today? In 2016, the automaker's lineup is limited to only 3 cars:
The five hundredth Fiat, whose manufacturer is native Italy, is a neat and compact hatchback. A car can have either a 1.2-liter gasoline engine, or a 0.9-liter turbocharged, or a 1.3-liter diesel.
Punto is a modest hatchback, which also has a choice of two power units with 1.4 liters but different power. As with the Fiat 500, there are two gearbox options: classic mechanics and robotic automatic.
FullBack is a clone of the Japanese Mitsubishi L200. An all-wheel drive vehicle manufactured at a production site in Thailand perfectly complements the Fiat range. But for this car, to the question: "Fulback Fiat" - which country is it producing? "- one can answer: not Italy.
For those who do not have restrictions on their borders, Fiat offers a much larger lineup. Among them, the pretty Fiat Panda stands out, which has an all-wheel drive version. In addition to it, you can purchase Fiat such as Mobi, Uno, Palio, Linea, Ottimo, Viaggio and Freemont.
Russian assembly "Fiat"
Despite the fact that today there is no joint production with Fiat, there are cars that deserve special attention. It is so beloved to us by Albea, Doblo and Ducato. Collaboration with Sollers was not in vain. The Ducato has been the most popular car in its class for several years.
Despite the active and successful sales of Russian Ducato and Doblo, there was a lot of criticism towards our assembly. Somewhere they noticed gaps of a larger size than provided by the plant, somewhere defective products in the car. At the same time, criticism did not prevent cars from becoming popular. Fiat Ducato, whose manufacturer is a plant in Yelabuga, simply had no competitors at the time.
Fiat dolo
This model was produced in Naberezhnye Chelny, when Fiat actively collaborated with Sollers. When developing this model, designers took Fiat Cargo as the basis. The resulting compact car immediately found its connoisseurs. He also liked Russia. Manufacturers of Fiat Doblo offered several modifications, which included passenger, cargo and passenger and pure cargo options.
The car had a 1.4-liter power unit, 77 “horses” and was equipped with a 5-speed gearbox. Fiat Doblo's producer-country seems to be Russia. Why "seem to be"? Because we only performed the assembly of the main components, which, in turn, were manufactured at the Fiat subsidiary in Turkey.
Fiat albea
It was with Albea that the production of “Russian Italians” began. At the plant in Naberezhnye Chelny in 2007, the first car was released. It was a classic sedan of the simplest appearance. As a power unit was a 1.4-liter engine. Since 2011, the car ceased to be produced due to obsolescence.
Many motorists did not like the rather weak and dynamic engine, as well as the simple external and internal design. Yes, it was a budget car, but time makes its demands. For the same money, competitors are already developing more modern bodies and “stuffing” them with all kinds of technical innovations.
The country of origin of Fiat Albea is Russia, so the car also had its positive aspects:
- spacious lounge;
- comfortable seats;
- spacious luggage compartment;
- good ground clearance;
- economical fuel consumption;
- budget cost.
Fiat ducato rus
At the time, the Ducato was the most popular car in its class. The Russian version of the Sollers had only a turbocharged diesel engine with 2.3 liters in volume and a manual gearbox. 244 car body became the Russian designation. As in Europe at one time, the Ducato was produced in several versions: purely cargo and passenger-and-freight. At the same time, there were elongated bodies.
Convenient and practical "Fiat Ducato", the country of origin of which is Russia, possessed good dynamism and a comfortable interior of a foreign car. Among the shortcomings, it is worth noting some confusion when selecting spare parts. But this problem at first existed for all foreign cars of the Russian assembly. Parts catalogs just did not have time to modify.
Updated and modern Ducato
Among commercial vehicles, Ducato has always been famous for its versatility and amenities at affordable prices. The sixth generation of “Ducato” is no exception. Italian engineers combined incompatible. Commercial freight transport is easily and simply combined with a comfortable and technically equipped passenger car. Several modifications of the new Ducato allow you to solve a wide range of tasks for the business. The most “strong” version of the car can lift up to 4 tons of payload.
What exactly is new in Fiat Ducato? According to Italian developers, the body and door structures are reinforced in the car. Suspension, brakes and traction are also reinforced and redesigned for longer life. Among the "know-how" is a modern white paintwork, as well as a redesigned turbine, which makes it possible to accelerate a car even faster with lower fuel consumption. For 100 km, the 6th generation Ducato consumes only 7.3 liters of fuel.
Interesting Facts
The Fiat company is famous not only for its cars. Among the products of the concern are many agricultural machinery and equipment, as well as the magneti marelli spare parts production line.
Among the historical facts that may be interesting are:
- the first heating and ventilation system was at Fiat;
- the first SUV is also a Fiat - Campagnola;
- the well-known Common Rail injection system was developed by Fiat and Bosch;
- Fiat Sedici and Japanese Suzuki SX4 are made on the same basis and at the same factory.
There is information that, despite the use of advanced technologies and sophisticated design, the Fiat company has flaws in quality. Because of what the name "Fiat" is translated by English-speaking inhabitants as "Repair it again, Tony." German motorists have their own translation: "Defects in each node." Therefore, the statement: “The Fiat manufacturing country is Italy” does not always speak about the quality of the products.
Conclusion
Cars of the global concern Fiat are not the most popular. You will not meet them in various TOPs of sales. At the same time, the company is actively developing and has more than a century of history.