Fiat 500L with seven seats to hit market by end-July 2013

Fiat automobili Srbija (FAS) will start producing Fiat's 500L model with seven seats, which should be launched in Serbia and Europe by the end of July, FAS CEO Antonio Cesare Ferrara told Tanjug news agency Wednesday (13 March 2013).

- The new model, called Fiat 500XL, will be available in two versions - Ferrara said at the Kopaonik Business Forum.

He noted that it was still too early to speak about the price for that new model, adding that it was a specific segment of the automobile market. Ferrara said he expected that car to account for about 10 percent of the total Fiat 500L sales.

As he announced, FAS will this year export 99 percent of all cars produced in Kragujevac, which is between 110,000 and 180,000 vehicles, and the accurate number will depend on the market demand.

He also said that FAS would start producing Fiat 500L running on compressed gas (CNG - methane), adding that the factory in Kragujevac would also begin the production of a Trekking version of the 500L for off-road driving in April.