9/4: Story now updated with additional information on the Fiat 500L Stop Sale.

Fiat sales in August were a mix of good news and not so good news. Fiat 500 hatchback and Cabrio sales for August were up 12 percent compared to the same month last year, making it the best August since 2012. Fiat sold 3,329 hatchback and Cabrios last month compared to 2,371 in July - a 40 percent increase and a good indication that three years after its introduction to North America, the buying public still finds the Fiat 500 an engaging and desirable car. This closely matches the 500's sales performance in Europe. The timeless design and iconic style keeps the Fiat 500 fresh and ageless.

Sales performance of the Fiat 500 in Europe. The dotted line marks the typical life cycle curve of a traditional A-Segment model, however Fiat 500 sales have remained consistently strong and resilient throughout. Last year the Fiat 500 was the best selling A-segment car in Europe. This minicar segment is Europe's second largest car segment and the 500 has run neck and neck with the Fiat Panda for top honors for the past six years. Between the 500 and Panda, Fiat sold 312,419 cars compared to runner-up Volkswagen with 202,343 cars spread among its three cars in the segment.

The bad news is sales of the Fiat 500L have been temporarily halted by a Stop Sale/Recall order issued on July 30th. According to the letter, 2014 and 2015 Fiat 500L models built before July 24, 2014 may have irregularities in the folds of the drivers knee air bag that may cause the air bag to perform incorrectly in certain crash conditions. Chrysler announced in July that during routine testing it was discovered the possibility that the driver's knee airbag may not deploy in the proper position if the driver is not wearing a seatbelt. This recall effects approximately 25,483 vehicles in the United States and 4,000 in Canada.

Under the Stop Sale order, vehicles in stock on dealer lots cannot be sold until the problem is repaired. This is a major blow to Fiat dealers and 500L sales, which had been slowly gaining traction. Fiat says repairs are imminent as TRW, the manufacturer of the air bag scrambles to produce the approximately 30,000 replacements to fill the order. Once a sufficient amount of replacement air bags are ready, they will be shipped to dealers and customers notified. Sources say parts are expected to arrive at Fiat Studios late in September with the 500L Stop Sale continuing until at least then.

Fiat 500L Knee Airbag Recall Announced

August Recap
Fiat ramped up TV advertising on the 500 hatchback and Cabrio models, no doubt to offset the 500L being benched. The "Endless Fun" ad campaign begun in June is catchy and also has the added bonus of being economical to produce. These animated GIF commercials are a cheap way to keep the Fiat name in front of the public.

Fiat Endless Fun Ad Campaign

August brought news that the Abarth Driving Experience has added new venues and will be renewed for the 2015 model year. Anyone taking retail delivery of a new Fiat 500 Abarth can sign up for a free, full day of high performance driving instruction under the watchful eyes of professionals. Now heading into its forth year, the Abarth Driving Experience is a fun and safe way to learn what the Fiat 500 Abarth can do on a race track. It's a huge hit with 500 Abarth owners.

Abarth Experience Adds New Venues

Newly arriving 2015 Fiat 500 Abarth equipped with the automatic transmissions have been gathering a lot of attention at Fiat Studios. Abarth engineers took special care to make sure the Abarth Automatic is as exciting to drive as the manual transmission cars.

Fiat 500 Abarth Automatic Up Close

Fiat 500 Sales in the United States - August 2014

Fiat 500	Current Month	Last Year	Vol Change	Current YTD Total	Last Year YTD Total	Vol Change
Aug 2014 500 500L	3,329 33 3,362	2,976 1,214 4,190	12% -97% -20%	23,879 8,262 32,141	26,868 2,717 29,585	-11% 204% 9%
July 2014 500 500L	2,371 1,436 3,807	2,821 962 3,783	-16% 49% 1%	20,550 8,229 28,779	23,892 1,503 25,395	-14% 448% 13%
June 2014 500 500L	3,328 1,150 4,478	3,509 541 4,050	-5% 113% 11%	18,179 6,793 24,972	21,071 512 21,612	-14% 1,156% 16%
May 2014 500 500L	3,337 1,434 4,771	4,051 0 4,051	-18% new 18%	14,851 5,643 20,494	17,562 0 17,562	-15% new 17%
April 2014 500 500L	3,041 1,257 4,298	3,899 0 3,899	-22% new 10%	11,514 4,209 15,723	13,511 0 13,511	-15% new 16%
March 2014 500 500L	3,316 1,422 4,738	3,807 0 3,807	-13% new 24%	8,473 2,952 11,425	9,612 0 9,612	-12% new 19%
Feb 2014 500 500L	2,664 801 3,465	3,302 0 3,302	-19% new 5%	5,157 1,530 6,687	5,805 0 5,805	-11% new 15%
Jan 2014 500 500L	2,493 729 3,222	2,503 0 2,503	0% new 29%	2,493 729 3,222	2,503 0 2,503	0% new 29%