Fiat aims for 20,000 Sedici 4x4 sales in 2006

MILAN, Nov 25 (Reuters) - Italy's Fiat will have 20,000 of its new Sedici land cruisers to sell next year and hopes to sell 5,000 of its Panda Cross four-by-four models, a Fiat spokesman said at a presentation of the cars.
The Sedici aims to compete with five-door hatchbacks such as the Ford Focus and the Volkswagen Golf.
Fiat wants to sell 12,000 in Italy and 8,000 in other major European markets, the spokesman said at the presentation late on Thursday. The car will be launched in Italy on March 10, 2006.
It is part of Fiat's joint development with Japan's Suzuki Motor Corp at the Esztergom plant in Hungary. The spokesman said the number of vehicles available to market was limited by capacity at the plant.
The Sedici will be the official car of the Winter Olympics in Turin, which run from Feb. 10 to Feb. 26.
The Panda Cross, based on Fiat's established Panda model, will be launched in December in Italy and then rolled out next year, with a price likely to be above 15,000 euros ($17,670).
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