29.10.2004 At this week's Auto Africa Expo 2004 in Johannesburg, Fiat Auto South Africa have previewed the new Palio and Siena, models which will commence production locally early next year

At this week's Auto Africa Expo 2004 in Johannesburg, Fiat Auto South Africa (FASA) have previewed the new Palio and Siena, the third generation of the 'World Car' project.

These two new models will go on sale on the local market early next year, once production commences at Fiat's South African manufacturing plant.

The new Palio and Siena were introduced in Brazil late last year, and are already selling well across South America, having increased their respective segment presences. The new Palio in fact was recently awarded the prestigious Brazilian 'Car of the Year 2004' title.

South Africa, will become the second country globally to roll out these models, a strong indication of the importance that Fiat Auto place on their manufacturing operation here. Emphasising the central role that the new Palio and Siena will play in Fiat's future in South Africa, a comprehensive line-up has been presented to the public at the Expo Center this week.

FASA are confident that the new Palio and Siena will be genuine contenders in the highly competitive compact family car segment, building on the strong performance of the first two generations, that have sold almost 30,000 since being introduced in 2000.

However, with the release of the latest models, Fiat Auto South Africa (FASA) aims to up the ante significantly, especially as the new contenders account for the use of some 80 percent of new components.

The revisions have given the latest incarnation of Fiat’s ‘World Car’ a fresh new personality, with extensive improvements to the design, functionality and ergonomics.

NEW FIAT PALIO AND SIENA: IN DETAIL