The iconic Fiat 500, Fiat’s genuine expression of Italian style and character which has managed to achieve major records in its segment and brought product innovation at a relentless pace, has reached the 1,000,000 mark. The one millionth Fiat 500 was produced at the Mexican plant in Toluca.

Produced since 2007, the Fiat 500 is sold in over 100 countries around the world, from Italy to Brazil, South Africa to Japan and the United States to the Middle East, bringing to fore the main characteristics that make up the Italian style and boasting thousands of customisations, so many that it is difficult to find two that are identical.

The Fiat 500 success story began on the 4th of July 2007 when it was greeted by 7,000 people from 63 countries around the world who convened purposely to Turin in Italy for its official first public presentation.  A year later, in 2008, Fiat 500 registered a record share of 13.9% in Europe and in 2009, it reached top sales volumes of approximately 186,000 units.

Always a great player on the international markets, the Fiat 500 was recently revamped with the 2013 range – saloon and convertible versions – introducing six brand-new body colours, two new versions (Street and Colour Therapy) and other style details which enhance the fun-loving pop spirit of the iconic model. The range today includes two versions (saloon and convertible), six trim levels (Pop, Pop Star, Colour Therapy, Lounge, Street and “By Gucci”) and five engine versions (1.2 69 HP, 0.9 TwinAir Turbo 85, 1.4 16v 100 HP, 1.2 69 HP EasyPower and 1.3 MultiJet 16v 95 HP).

Launched at the end of 2010 in the United States and produced at the Toluca plant in Mexico, today the Fiat 500 is the leader in its class. In October it marked its eighth consecutive month of growth. Taking a closer look, sales of the 500 saloon in North America increased by 109% while the cabrio version marked an increase of 21%. In total, more than 73,000 vehicles were registered in the North American market since 2011, of which 42.000 just in the first 10 months of 2012. Just a few weeks ago the arrival at U.S. dealerships of the new Fiat 500 Turbo fitted with the 135 HP 1.4 MultiAir engine was met with great enthusiasm.

The record-breaking model is a Lounge version ‘dressed’ in elegant three-layer Funk White and fitted with the 1,2 litres 69 HP engine. It is a unique car like all those produced so far. In fact, thanks to the thousands of possible combinations – combining exterior colours, interiors, engines, fuel systems and equipment – of the million units produced it is really hard to find two identical Fiat 500s.

The Fiat 500 has achieved major records in its segment thanks to its Italian design and the most sophisticated technology, as embodied by the revolutionary and multi-award-winning TwinAir engine. With the over 40 awards it has won internationally to date, the new car has proven since its launch in July 2007 that it is not merely a super-compact city car, but an authentic platform upon which Fiat is building a whole family of cars with technology and attention to detail worthy of a higher category.

It is not by chance that the Fiat 500 has introduced many innovations and achieved important records in its segment. It was the first to offer seven airbags as standard; the first car offering a range of over 1 million possible customisations; the first car only 3.55 metres long to win the prestigious "5 EuroNCAP stars"; the first car to offer the advanced ESP on all engines; the first car to offer 100 original specially designed accessories; and the first Fiat Group car to carry the revolutionary two-cylinder TwinAir engine family to its début.

The new products also arrived thick and fast: 500 Abarth (March 2008), 500 by Diesel (September 2008), 500 Pink (June 2009), 500C (July 2009), 500C Abarth (March 2010), 500C by Diesel (June 2010), 500 TwinAir (July 2010), 500 Matt Black (September 2010), 500 two-tone (December 2010), 500 and 500C by Gucci (in April and August 2011, respectively), 500 TwinAir with “byAbarth” pack (September 2011) and 500 America Limited Edition (February 2012). What’s more, show cars have been created on the basis of the model, like the 500 Barbie, the 500 China First Edition, the 500 Why Africa, the 500 Pepita, the 500 Peter Blake, the 500 Arik Levi and the 500 Diabolik.

The last data confirming the roaring success of the 500 is the Official Fan Page on Facebook (www.facebook.com/fiat500). It collected about 300 thousand visitors from all the nations of the world, a global community of enthusiasts who interact daily with the proposed contents and shares opinions and images on the model that more than any other inspires warmth, style and maximum freedom of customisation.