The new compact 4-seat minicar will be based on the A-segment Panda’s platform, shortened for this new application to 3150mm, and is set to be powered by Fiat Powertain Technologies’ new 900cc two-cylinder petrol engine. The new minicar will revive the name of the pre-war Topolino (above). The Kragujevac factory will build the forthcoming Fiat B-Compact model, dubbed the ‘nuova Uno’, for Central and Eastern European markets.

Fiat is planning to build a new generation of low-cost small cars at the Zastava factory in Serbia, which it signed an agreement to take over last week. Fiat and the Serbian government will form a new company, split 70-30 in Fiat’s favour. This will see the former investing 700 million euros, while the latter will pump in 200 million euros in the form of break and incentives, as well as supplying the assets of the state-owned carmaker.

Zastava already builds the Mk2 Punto under licence from Fiat, selling it domestically as well as exporting it right across Eastern Europe and into Russia. This model is expected to be retained in the new lineup at the Kragujevac factory, south-east of the capital Belgrade.

However, two new models are earmarked for the Zastava plant, which will have a capacity of 300,000 units per annum when investment is completed, reported Automotive News Europe last week. The factory will build the B-Compact model, dubbed the ‘nuova Uno’, for Central and Eastern European markets. This car, based on the new B-Compact platform (a scaled-down version of that used by the Grande Punto), will replace the Palio range on the world markets. In addition to Serbia, it will be built in Brazil, China, India and possibly Turkey. Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne has hinted that the new B-Compact car will coincide with the launch of a new stand-alone brand for low-cost cars, modelled on Renault’s successful Dacia brand. Innocenti is the currently favoured name for the new brand, with the B-Compact due to receive its première in early 2010.

The second new car, added ANE, will be the new minicar. This compact 4-seat ‘city’ car will be based on the A-segment Panda’s platform, shortened for this new application to 3150mm, and is set to be powered by Fiat Powertain Technologies’ new 900cc two-cylinder petrol engine. Very little detail has emerged about this car, which will revive the pre-war Topolino name, but following the runaway success of the 500, Fiat management believe they can score a real hit with another iconic city car. It will move Fiat directly onto Smart ForTwo territory and plug into a niche segment that other car manufacturers, such as Toyota and VW, are beginning to exploit, with the Italian firm confident it can reduce costs more effectively than its rivals.

The Topolino is expected to debut at the Frankfurt Motor Show in the autumn of 2009, and Fiat is talking to other manufacturers about sharing the project, in a similar manner to the joint venture that the Italian firm has undertaken with Ford to develop the Panda-based Fiat 500/Ford Ka.

The most interesting news to emerge from the ANE report last week is that an upmarket Lancia-branded version of the Zastava-built Topolino is planned, the first time that such an idea has been floated. A Lancia version will help the brand towards its sales target of 300,000 units per year and represent a further new model introduction into the range, following the arrival this summer of the Delta.