1969 was a landmark year in Autobianchi’s history, as it saw the launch of what would turn out to be the brand’s longest-serving and best-selling model, the A112… But also the short-lived and soon forgotten A111.
The Autobianchi A111 was an indirect replacement for the Primula, which mated the latter’s suspensions and running gear with a more traditional three-box sedan bodyshell and a particularly well-appointed interior.
However, the A111 received little marketing support and was quietly discontinued in 1972. By then, Fiat’s upper management had decided, following the recent acquisition of Lancia, that Autobianchi’s offerings were to be confined to the lower end of the market.
The A112 story began sometime in 1966 as Fiat’s project X1/2. In the intentions of Dante Giacosa, the X1/2 was to replace the outdated rear-engined Fiat 600 and 850.
About 3.2 meters long and equipped with the 850’s engine mounted transversely at the front sending its power to the front wheels, the X1/2 was to finally bring Fiat’s mass-market offerings into the modern era.
The Autobianchi A112 (picture from Wheelsage.org) アウトビアンキA112（画像はWheelsage.orgより引用）
However, Fiat’s vice president Gaudenzio Bono had other ideas: the X1/2 would instead become an Autobianchi, while Fiat would offer a larger, more spacious car, which was codenamed X1/4 and reached production in 1971 as the Fiat 127.
Unable to compete with Fiat on price, Innocenti cleverly positioned the Mini as a cut above Fiat’s cars, attracting a younger, more educated, and urban clientele. The strategy worked a treat: by 1969, Innocenti sold almost 50.000 Minis a year, something Fiat wasn’t willing to tolerate any longer.
Italians love cheap small cars with a touch of style, and the Autobianchi A112 became a runaway hit. By the time the upmarket Elegant and the sporty Abarth joined the range in 1971, Autobianchi had already sold over 200.000 A112s.
The Autobianchi A112 LX (picture from media.stellantis.com) アウトビアンキ A112 LX（画像はmedia.stellantis.comより引用）
Yearly sales for the Milanese brand peaked at nearly 114.000 units in 1973, the year that saw the first of many restylings the A112 received over its 17 years on the market, during which around 1.3 million examples were sold.
But there’s only so much plastic cladding you can graft onto a 1960s design to make it look like it belonged in the era of compact discs and shoulder pads: enter the Autobianchi Y10.
The Autobianchi Y10 (picture from media.stellantis.com) アウトビアンキY10（画像はmedia.stellantis.comより引用）
Sales were slow initially, but the Y10 then enjoyed a long and successful production run. Nevertheless, by the late 1980s, the Autobianchi brand was on borrowed time, as the Y10 began being marketed under the Lancia brand everywhere except its native Italy.
When the Fiat Group ran into financial trouble in the early 1990s and began shrinking its manufacturing footprint, Autobianchi’s Desio plant was among the first to go in 1992. Production of the Y10 moved to Alfa Romeo’s Arese factory later the same year, and the model soldiered on until 1996.
