autoevolution
 

Stellantis to Keep Milking the Fiat Panda Like the Cash Cow That It Is Until 2026

You know how we’re constantly reminding you that the Dodge Challenger/Charger duo and Nissan GT-R, among others, are some of the oldest cars still on sale today? Well, they’re not the only aging models, because the current Fiat Panda has been around since 2011.
Fiat Panda 10 photos
Photo: Fiat
Fiat PandaFiat PandaFiat PandaFiat PandaFiat PandaFiat PandaFiat PandaFiat PandaFiat Panda Sales
The third-generation city car has a lot of things in common with the Fiat 500 and Lancia Ypsilon. It is offered in a five-door hatchback body style, with a selection of small gasoline engines and on-demand all-wheel drive, reminiscent of its predecessors.

So, do you think that Stellantis, Fiat’s parent company, will soon pull the plug on it? Not quite, because a report from Reuters, quoting the metal workers union, states that the Panda will live on for a few more years. In fact, it will remain in production, at the Pomigliano plant, in Italy, until 2026, and by then, it will be 15 years old.

But why did they choose to go down this route, when most car buyers only want crossovers and SUVs, and the electric cloud is hovering above the automotive industry? For the simple fact that the Fiat Panda is still a huge cash cow in Europe.

You see, according to CarSalesBase, 2021 was the model’s worst year in terms of sales in the Old Continent, yet the figure might surprise you: 131,723 – that’s how many Pandas were sold on the right side of the Atlantic Ocean last year. In 2020, the Italian automaker shifted 145,907 copies, down from the 184,027 in 2019. In 2018 and 2017, 168,094 and 187,049 examples were delivered respectively, and the model’s best year was 2016, when no less than 190,432 units were sold. In its first year in the market, 2011, the Panda accounted for 188,462 sales, and its third-worst year was 2014, with 152,045 of them shipped all over Europe.
If you liked the article, please follow us:  Google News icon Google News Youtube Instagram X (Twitter)
About the author: Cristian Gnaticov
Cristian Gnaticov profile photo

After a series of unfortunate events put an end to Cristian's dream of entering a custom built & tuned old-school Dacia into a rally competition, he moved on to drive press cars and write for a living. He's worked for several automotive online journals and now he's back at autoevolution after his first tour in the mid-2000s.
Full profile

 

Would you like AUTOEVOLUTION to send you notifications?

You will only receive our top stories