25 years after the end of production, Maluchy cars are still present
Transparency note: This press release was originally published in Polish. The text has been machine translated. You can find the original press release here.
Although production of the Fiat 126p ended 25 years ago, individual units have been registered even in recent years. The CARFAX database, a company that provides reports on the history of used cars from reliable and certified sources, currently has 7,700 Maluch cars registered, the oldest of which date back to 1973 – the very beginning of production. Nearly a quarter of them are still in the hands of their first owners.
In 2000, production of the Fiat 126p was discontinued, the first examples of which left the Small Car Factory in Bielsko-Biała in 1973. A total of over 3.3 million Maluch cars were produced in Poland. The Polish CARFAX database, which covers over 23 million used cars in Poland, currently has 7,700 of them registered. The oldest model in the database was registered in the first year of production.
The transformation this model has undergone – from a budget-friendly means of transportation for the masses to a fully-fledged "youngtimer" and investment asset – is spectacular and largely driven by sentimental reasons. The fact that many examples are now being registered as classic cars demonstrates the professionalization of the market and the changing attitudes of owners. Just a decade ago, few people would verify the history of a cheap car bought "just to run it in," but today, when prices for well-maintained models from the 1970s can reach tens of thousands of złoty, VIN verification and meticulous documentation are becoming standard, says Robert Lewandowski, Business Development Manager at CARFAX Polska. "The status of this little car is confirmed by its ever-increasing market value. The most spectacular example was a white Fiat 126p donated to actor Tom Hanks by the residents of Bielsko-Biała, which, after a luxurious restoration, was sold in the US in 2022 for a record $83,500." It is therefore optimistic that the Maluch did not end up in the scrap yard of history, but found a safe place in collectors' garages, becoming one of the most interesting technical monuments in this part of Europe.
22% of Maluch cars still with their first owner Among the Maluch cars analysed, 22% have not changed owners since they were registered in the CARFAX database. The average car is 34 years old and has a mileage of 62,000 kilometres. Only 2% have had accidents in their history, although it is worth remembering that in most cases the data probably does not cover their history from the earliest years.
The low average mileage of several tens of thousands of kilometers isn't surprising; one must take into account the technical specifics of the era. The odometers in classic Maluch cars were calibrated only to 99,900 kilometers, so after exceeding that number, the cylinders would reset to zero. A car with 60,000 kilometers on the clock could actually cover that distance many times. Today, the Fiat 126p is usually a weekend car, pulled out of the garage for rallies or Sunday drives, which generates symbolic annual mileage and confirms its status as a collector's item," says Robert Lewandowski, Business Development Manager at CARFAX Polska. "The high percentage of cars in the hands of their original owners is unusual, suggesting that a large portion of the fleet are so-called 'time capsules,' kept in families from new and treated with great sentiment. It's worth remembering that this phenomenon extends far beyond Poland's borders." Although we associate the "Maluch" with the grey communist era, in the 1980s it was briefly an export hit to China, where in cities such as Wenzhou thousands of these cars served as taxis, and in Cuba it still operates under the affectionate name "Polaquito".
Fiat 126p cars account for almost half of the Polish-made cars from the communist era in the Polish CARFAX database. Apart from them, Fiat 125p cars are also the most common, followed by Polonez, Warszawa and Żuk cars.