According to the sources, the signing of the deal will be the first step towards resuming production at the facility in late 2011, with the first model to exit the lines expected to be Chrysler 300C. The Bertone facility's lines are idle since December 2005.
Carrozzeria Bertone will be used by Fiat to build, alongside the 300C, the Jeep Grand Cherokee. Both vehicles are currently being built by Magna Steyr, a Magna International subsidiary. To remind you, Fiat earlier this year battled Magna for control over Opel. Fiat lost Opel to Magna, while Magna will now lose Chrysler to Fiat.
Together with the two American models, Fiat will use the facility for the production of a 300C based flagship Lancia model. Another rumor is that Fiat will also bring at Bertone the Lancia Ypsilon from the Termini Imerese plant, scheduled to be closed in 2011.
To accommodate the production of the scheduled models, Fiat is reportedly planning to invest some 150 million euros in the facility, over a period of three years. The plant covers a total area of 310,000 square meters and at current capacity it can produce some 70,000 vehicles a year. A sufficient number for the high-end, niche vehicles built here until now, but way lower than Fiat would like for the 300C or the Grand Cherokee.
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