“A little more than a year ago, I promised President Calderon that I would be back to celebrate the launch of the Fiat 500 and I am pleased that I could keep that promise today,” said Marchionne. “With the assistance of the Mexican government, we have been able to prepare the Toluca Assembly Plant for production of the first Fiat, a vehicle that demonstrates the level of cooperation between our two companies and reintroduces the brand to the North American market after more than 28 years.”
Back in February of last year, the CEO announced that Fiat would invest $550 million, with the assistance of loans from the Mexican government, to build the new model in its Toluca plant. The facility will make 120,000 units per year for export to the United States, Canada, and South America, as well as to China by the third quarter of 2011.
“Fiat 500 production here is an important landmark because it reaffirms Chrysler’s commitment to Mexico that dates back to 1938,” added Marchionne. “Mexico is in an ideal position for production of this car. Because of its free-trade agreements with neighbors to both the north and south, it is a bridge between NAFTA and Latin America. And for the Mexican market, where the 500 has already been sold for several years, this marks an important shift from a vehicle imported from Europe to one that is built locally,”
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