Fiat to produce 300,000 fewer vehicles in 2012 in Europe

According to Khabarkhodro, The move comes as automakers are reviewing their production plans for next year in response to a deepening European crisis and a suffering auto market. Fiat Group expects to produce 1 million passenger cars in 2012, down from 1.3 million units projected at the start of this year and 13 percent less that the 1.15 million units the groupe hopes to make this year.

Fiat told Automotive News Europe that the company does not comment on figures that are „purely speculative”. The Italian website claims the story is based on internal company documents and claims Fiat changed its output plans in September.

Fiat wants to avoid having large inventories, as automakers that had many unsold new cars were hit the hardest by the 2008-2009 financial crisis. Since then, automakers have tried to keep their inventories low. At the end of September, Fiat and its dealers had a combined inventory of about two months of sales, up from 1.9 months in the same period in 2010. At the start of the global financial crisis in September 2008, Fiat was caught with an inventory at 2.5 months of sales.