Fiat, OJSC-Sollers in joint venture

22 July 2008

Italian automaker Fiat and Russian carmaker OJSC-Sollers (formerly Severstalauto) have announced having signed two master joint ventures agreements for the manufacture and distribution of Fiat passenger cars and the production of Fiat Powertrain Technologies' (FPT) F1A diesel engines, respectively.

The agreements were signed by Sergio Marchionne, CEO of Fiat Group, and Vadim Shvetsov, CEO of OJSC-Sollers, on the sideline of the XII St. Petersburg International Economic Forum.

Fiat Group Automobiles and OJSC-Sollers, which is already assembling the Fiat Ducato light commercial vehicle, have also agreed to increase the output at their Tatarstan' facility for the manufacture of up to 50,000 Fiat Linea sedans whose production will start later this year.

In addition, the joint-venture, in which Fiat Group Automobiles and OJSC-Sollers will each hold a 50-per cent stake, will be in charge of marketing and sales of all Fiat brand products in Russia.

The new joint-venture will be integrated into the Fiat Group Automobiles international production network and will therefore be provided with full support of its marketing
and product strategies, similar to other Fiat international projects and joint-ventures.

Fiat Powertrain Technologies and OJSC-Sollers will each hold a 50 per cent stake in the second joint-venture that will produce up to 90,000 engines a year,
starting from the next winter.