Fiat readying new Panda

Fiat is little more than a year away from introducing a third-generation version of its much beloved Panda. The tall four-door hatchback is planned to make its public premiere at the Frankfurt auto show in September, 2011 just prior to the start of European sales. Unlike the second-generation Panda which was produced in Tichy, Poland - the site responsible for the Fiat 500 and mechanical identical Ford Ka, the new model will be built in at the old Alfa-Romeo Sud plant in Pomigliano dÁrco, Italy. Fiat plans to invest around $US900 million modernising the sprawling site in a move insiders suggest will increase annual capacity to 300,000 cars per year.