Director of Zastava Automobili Zoran Bogdanovic stated that its Serbian factory started producing the Zastava 10, a Fiat Punto Mk2b which is built under licence, during July and has assembled 70 vehicles so far. His comments came during the official inauguration of the model's production at the Zastava factory Serbia, reports Serbian business news source Economy.

Bogdanovic announced that a total of 192 vehicles will be produced by the end of July, whereas between 400 and 500 Zastava 10 cars will come out in August. According to him, projected monthly production of Zastava 10 cars by the end of the year is 500 per month, and 7 million euros has so far been invested in purchase of equipment, 5.3 million euros of which was provided from privatisation revenues whereas the rest came from the factory’s budget.

General Manager of Zastava Vozila Group Zoran Radojevic said that Zastava has shown that it is capable of applying new technologies, staff training and production of a new model, and expressed belief that the new production will pave the way for better cooperation with international car makers. Radojevic said that nearly 300 workers are involved in the process of assembling the Zastava 10, adding that the total investments for composing this model amounts to 14.7 million euros which will be provided from privatisation of Zastava’s branch companies which is underway.
 

Serbian Minister of Trade and Services Predrag Bubalo said that by procuring modern equipment, the car factory Zastava Automobili has been given a new chance to attract a strategic partner and show potential investors that it can assemble cars of the latest generation.  During a tour of assembly lines for the model Zastava 10, Bubalo said that Zastava Automobili is about to achieve a huge success and the date of signing the contract on assembling Opel’s models is getting closer.

He stressed that a foreign strategic partner would be the best way to resolve the future of the factory, adding that the car maker must carry out several more tasks in order to become more attractive for foreign companies. Bubalo emphasised his pleasure with the visit to the factory and said that the restructuring process of Zastava has not been completed yet because the factory has to implement some more reforms. This is the best way to resolve the factory’s destiny for good, said Bubalo and announced that Serbia will soon sign an agreement on free trade with Ukraine, Belarus and Turkey, which will enable Zastava to enter these markets. He also explained that unless the restructuring process is carried out successfully, the announced tender will not be a success.