Reuters (Milan) - Italian automaker Fiat will extend the summer break at its Pomigliano plant, near Naples and which makes the Panda, by two weeks to adjust output to rapidly falling demand in Europe.
The European car market shrank 6.3 percent in the first half of 2012, with Italy down 19.7 percent.
"The sales crisis does not appear to stop," Fiat said on Wednesday. "The Italian market, which is now back at levels last seen in 1979, is penalising Fiat, especially in the city car segment where the group owns 60 percent of the market with its Panda and 500 models."
Fiat said the Pomigliano plant would remain shut from Aug. 20-31, after the closure planned for the summer. "In coming months the situation will be continually monitored," Fiat said.
