Fiat 500 Launches in Brazil

Italian manufacturer Fiat debuted today in Brazil, as it was presented to the media prior to the market release later this month. Before the end of 2009, the 500 will spread throughout Latin American, as it will be launched in Colombia, Barbados, Panama and Jamaica. The car is already sold in Argentina, Chile, Curaçao, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Mexico, Peru, the Dominican Republic, Saint Martin and Paraguay.

For the Brazilian market, the 500 will be available in two trim levels, namely Sport and Lounge. There will be only one engine available, the 1.4l 16v petrol one, mated to either a six-speed manual or a five speed Dualogic automatic transmissions, just-auto.com reported.

To adapt the car for the country's requirements, the 500 was revised and received new suspensions, with increased flexibility of both the spring and the shock absorber travel. The Brazilian 500 comes with two front airbags, two sidebags and one knee bag, ABS with EBD, ESP, antislip system, and hydraulic brake assistance.

For the near future, it is rumored Fiat will use its alliance with Chrysler to assemble the 500 in Mexico. The car will head for both North and South America from there, as the 500 will be, for now, the only car to wear the Fiat badge in the US.

So far, the 500 has proven to be a hit, with some 390,000 orders received for it until now. At the end of June, Fiat reported that the car was selling better in overseas markets than in the domestic ones. At the time, 54 percent of the models rolled off the assembly lines where delivered in various countries across Europe. The percentage is expected to increase as the Fiat 500 stampedes North and South America.