Fiat, the famous Italian car manufacturer was founded in 1899, by a group of investors including Giovanni Agnelli. The new company was known as Fabbrica Italiana di Automobili Torino and Agnelli was its first managing director. Agnelli was to be associated with Fiat until his death in 1945. Indeed he was very much the inspiration behind it, having seen the potential of the motor car a year before the founding of Fiat following a meeting with Count Emanuele Bricherasio di Cacherano who was seeking investors in the new motor car industry.
Commercially Fiat had a steady start and by 1903 was in profit. It rolled out 135 vehicles that year. But just thirty six months later production had mushroomed almost tenfold. Fiat became a public company on the Milan stock exchange and Agnelli strengthened his hold on the company by rapidly increasing his shareholding. The business continued to grow apace and by the end of the First World War in 1918 it was the biggest company in Italy. Two years later Agnelli became chairman of the company.
The first car to be produced by Fiat was the 3 CV with a 697cc engine. Only eight were constructed. By 1903 the company was beginning to diversify and produced its first lorry and Within five years had started exporting to the United States and built its first aeroplane.
Having become the biggest vehicle manufacturer in Italy early in the 20th century, a position the company has boasted ever since, Fiat cars began to be produced in the United States following the licensing of a plant in New York. But in 1917, following the USA’s entry into the First World War, the factory was closed in the face of stiff American government controls and regulations.
Domestically things appeared bright for Fiat and by the early years of the 1920s it had won four-fifths of the Italian car market. But despite the company’s commercial dominance, it was caught in the political turmoil engulfing Italy following the end of 1914-18 war. In 1921 Fiats plants were seized by militant workers. Following the end of the workers’ occupation the following year the company built its huge Lignotto plant. At the time of its construction the plant was the biggest in Europe and also introduced assembly line production into Italy.
By the 1930s Fiat held almost 90 per cent of the domestic car market and were well placed to aid Italy’s war effort following their entry into World War Two.
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