After a
week of high-level talks Fiat Group and the Serbian
government announced this afternoon that initial agreement
had been reached which will see the Italian firm to take
over the Zastava factory in an innovative new deal that will
see both partners holding stakes in a newly formed company.
"Fiat
Group Automobiles and Serbia’s Ministry of Economy and
Regional Development today announced the signing of a
Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) as the basis for the
acquisition by FGA of the assets of the Zastava plant at
Kragujevac, Serbia, which is located 140 km South-East of
Belgrade," read a statement issued by Fiat in Turin earlier.
"Under the
MoU, joint teams are to be set up by FGA and Zastava with
the support of the Serbian Ministry of Economy, which will
examine the various aspect of the initiative in greater
detail," the Fiat statement added, before concluding: "If
deemed feasible, the two companies will enter into a
definitive agreement in the course of the coming months." It
is reported that Fiat will invest 700 million euros while
the Serbian government will put in 100 million euros plus
the car company's assets, with a new company being split
70-30 in the Italian firm's favour.
"This
initiative represents a further step in Fiat Group
Automobiles’ strategy aimed at supporting its growth and
volume aspirations," commented Sergio Marchionne, CEO of
Fiat Group and Fiat Group Automobiles, today, "It follows a
number of targeted alliances and partnerships signed with
leading carmakers and automotive suppliers over the last
four years. Moreover, it demonstrates our confidence and
trust in Serbia, its industry, management competence and the
skill of its workers, not to forget the Serbian automotive
market itself, which we consider an integral extension of
our domestic market. 54 years ago, Fiat and Zastava signed
an accord for the construction of the factory at Kragujevac
where the Fiat Punto is manufactured today. We believe that,
together with Zastava, we have played an important role in
enhancing the Serbian automotive industry from both the
manufacturing as well as the technological point of view. We
are proud that many Serbian engineers and technicians have
been trained at Fiat in Italy and in Serbia.”
