Fiat are at the 77th Paris Mondial de l'Automobile for the next ten days with a brash, exciting model line up, topped by the new Panda 100 hp which cheekily takes centre stage as it perches astride the far-out Ducato "Truckster" concept vehicle on the occasion of its international motor show launch; and likewise brand CEO Luca De Meo was in an upbeat mood as he spoke during Thursday's press conference.

The mood at Fiat Auto has turned in the last year, and this fact is being reflected in the attitude of their presentation in Paris. The Panda 100 hp is the latest model from the Fiat brand, and together with the "Model Year 2007" Panda and the environmentally-friendly "Panda Panda", the little A-segment cars are taking centre stage. One is mounted on the huge Ducato "Truckster" concept vehicle which dominates the display, both being finished in matching grey colours and revolving slowly together on a huge flush-fitting turntable, the cute little car literally clinging to the back of its big sister: the opposite ends of the Fiat model range spectrum seamlessly coming together.

Along with the quartet of Pandas, the Grande Punto (in Sporting trim and featuring "Need for Speed" decals), the Sedici 4x4 and the Croma 'station wagon', all represent the current Fiat production model range. Meanwhile two glittering mirrored spheres look towards the future, one housing the energy-efficient prototype Multipla Eco concept car and a second one offering a look at the forthcoming Fiat 500 though touch screens and models.
 

Luca De Meo outlined the Fiat brand's recent sales achievements, not least the European-wide market success of the Grande Punto range, and he looked forward to the arrival of the new C-segment Bravo model, due early next year, and the new Fiat 500, which is due to hit the showrooms in the autumn of 2007. With the presence of the Panda Panda and the Multipla Eco on the stand, De Meo also stressed Fiat's on-going commitment to sustainable motoring.

Also in Paris is the Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne, and he suggested to reporters on Thursday that Fiat Auto could be in line to sell as many as 3 million cars a year by 2010, a highly ambitious target, in part helped - he said - by achieving a positive impact in the non-European markets, with a particular focus on China. This year he expects Fiat to produce more than 2 million units, up from 1.8 million in 2005. BY 2010 he believes the Fiat brand will have above a 25 percent share of the Italian market (currently they have just under 24 percent) and a 7-8 percent slice of the overall European pie. The Fiat Grande Punto - he added - was set to sell 360,000 units this year.

Marchionne also said that common component sharing between Fiat, Alfa Romeo and Lancia, will rise to more than 50 percent by the end of next year, an almost five fold-increase achieved in just three years. Finally he said that the long running Ferrari share buy-back issue will be wrapped up within the next few days, and that Fiat also has a "call option" in place in regard to the Mubadala Development Corporation's 5 percent Ferrari stake.

by Edd Ellison in Paris