Fiat, an Italian auto manufacturer known for its small-sized cars, is one of the largest automobile manufacturers in the world. In 1899, Fiat was founded by Giovanni Agnelli in Turin and was known for producing luxury cars of that time. That said, Fiat is also ranked among the top Italian car brands in the UAE and is well-known for its small family cars.
Let’s go through the interesting Fiat facts and how this auto brand became one of the popular ones in the world.
FIAT HISTORY AND FACTS
Being one of the famous Italian auto brands, the company enjoys a widespread reputation for producing some well-known family cars. While many associate this Italian auto brand with cars, it is one of the interesting facts about Fiat that the automobile brand was popular with the manufacturing of railway engines, carriages, tractors, military vehicles and aircrafts.
Fiat has maintained its legacy of producing small family cars. Apart from that, the brand is well-known in the racing arenas for winning several awards. That said, Fiat 500, 500X, and 124 spider are not only one of the popular used Italian cars in the UAE but also across the globe. Let’s go through some of the Fiat fun facts to uncover the journey of the auto manufacturer.
MEANING OF FIAT
A little-known fact is that FIAT is an acronym for ‘Fabbrica Italiana Automobili Torino’. Moreover, it means “Let it be done” in Latin.
OWNED BY THE SAME FAMILY SINCE 1899
Founded over a century ago, in 1899, the Agnelli family still owns the shares in the company. Furthermore, John Elkan, grandson of Giovanni Agnelli and CEO of Exor, an investment company, owns the shares in the Fiat group of companies.
SETTING A RECORD IN EARLY YEARS
Soon after Angelli founded the company, the company went on to set a record. The Fiat model boasting 24 hp won the Sassi-Superga uphill race. Moreover, Angelli drove a Fiat with only eight horsepower in the second Italian Car Tour and set a record at that time.
JOURNEY IN WORLD WARS
It is one of the facts about Fiat that the company manufactured weapons and vehicles for the Allies in the First World War. Apart from that, Fiat’s 1F van and its advanced and robust 2F van models were used by the British Royal Navy to transport men and weapons during the war.
Moreover, Fiat closed its operation in the USA after the country joined the First World War and returned after more than three decades in the 1950s. Besides, when World War II broke out, car production stopped. Fiat automobile companies shifted their focus towards manufacturing military and commercial vehicles along with the weapons and machinery.
HISTORIC RECORDS POST WW-I
In the post war era, Fiat started mass production of one of their cars, a four-seat 509 to lower the manufacturing costs. Moreover, the brand captured over 80 percent of the Italian car market. That said, their commercial vehicles also made a mark after the war crisis.
In 1934, Macchi-Castoldi M.C. 72 powered by the Fiat AS6 aircraft engine, made a record of propelling to the top speed of 709 kilometres per hour.The record has not been broken till date. Furthermore, Fiat 016, which belonged to the company’s rail division, surpassed 160 kilometres per hour in the diesel-engine category.
MUSSOLINI ERA
Fiat started focusing on domestic vehicles with new research and development of technology. They abandoned their international operations in the Mussolini era. The Italian auto brand made many advancements.
For instance, Fiat designed two new cars, the Topolino and the Tariffa Minima till 1955. Moreover, the company designed their first truck with a diesel engine which proved to be a great freight transport. That said, their mastery in diesel engines was well-known. It is a lesser-known fact that many auto manufacturers till date use diesel engines produced by Fiat automobile company.
POST WORLD WAR-II
Many Fiat factories were affected by the war crisis. Moreover, the Angelli family lost ownership of the company as Vittorio Valleta became the president of the company in 1945 after Giovanni Agnelli’s death. This happened because the Italian government prohibited the Angelli family from owning the company until 1963 because of their ties with former prime-minister Mussolini.
Furthermore, Fiat factories were reconstructed and bagan its productions in 1948. That said, they were considerably successful, and their profits were remarkable as the company was re-established. In the 1950s, the economy of Italy experienced a positive period. This benefited the Italian auto manufacturer to a great extent as their sales sky-rocketed.
During this period, Fiat 600, the company’s first rear-wheel drive was manufactured. The RWD car became quite popular among the Italians.
SPORTIER CARS
Fiat produced its first-ever roadster, 204 A in 1949 on the Abarth platform. In 1971, the Italian auto brand acquired the ownership of Abarth and used its racing division to produce the faster models of Fiat. Furthermore, Fiat 500 Abarth and Fiat 124 Abarth are few of the car models by this auto manufacturer popular among the racing community too.
OWNS STAKE IN MULTIPLE AUTO COMPANIES
Fiat group has acquired shares of multiple auto companies. Out of many companies, Fiat made a merger with Chrysler in 2014 and the company was later known as Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA). Moreover, the Italian auto brand made its investment in multiple other auto brands such as Alfa Romeo, and Maserati in the 1980s and 90s. The Agnelli Family has owned Ferrari since 1969. However, the Fiat and Ferrari partnership came to an end in 2016.
Besides, the company still owns shares of Dodge, Jeep, RAM Trucks and Lancia. Most recently in 2021, the FCA joined hands with the one of the famous French auto brands, Peugeot S.A (PSA). That said, the merger is now known as Stellantis, becoming one of the largest automakers and providers of mobility solutions in the world.
FIGHTER AEROPLANES BY FIAT
It is one of the lesser known facts about Fiat that this automobile company manufactured a number of fighter aeroplanes during wars. Moreover, its G-55 fighter aeroplane’s design is regarded as one of the best among the fighter jets. Not only G-55, Fiat’s CR.32, a biplane fighter was quite popular in the second world war.
ROOFTOP TEST TRACK
Fiat had a rooftop test track where vehicles are sent for the final test after the production. This rooftop track is one of the largest ones and can be seen in the movie ‘The Italian Job’.
These were all the interesting Fiat facts. Another interesting fact about this Italian auto manufacturer is its interest in other fields as well. For instance, Fiat owns stakes in the Juventus football club. Not only that, the auto company also owns shares in “The Economist” magazine. Fiat logo history is also an interesting one with its representative image evolving over the years.
If you are a Fiat fan, you can browse through the popular car models in the used Fiat cars for sale in the UAE. Besides, you can find other used cars in the UAE from the auto brands owned by Fiat.
Keep reading UAE’s top auto blog to know more about different automotive brands and their popular car models.
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