The two carmakers will invest up to 400 million euros in the new facility, whose first goal will be to produce 140,000 cars and 220,000 engines per year. However, production could be boosted even more in the next few years, reaching 250,000 vehicles and 300,000 engines.
Chrysler is thus benefiting from the alliance it formed with Fiat, the Italian manufacturer who also has plans to bring its models into China, a separate side of the market which is continuously posting very high sales in spite of the global economic chaos.
Fiat and Guangzhou haven't revealed the names of the models to be produced in China but it appears the Linea plus a couple of Alfa Romeo and Fiat vehicles are also on the table.
The joint venture has already established plans on how to sell cars in China. The two partners will use the existing Chinese stores that are selling imported Fiats in the country to distribute vehicles sourced from the Italian firm. All dealers will be merged into a new dealership network that will focus their business on Fiat and Alfa Romeo brands. However, they won't sell cars produced by Guangzhou, the source noted.
Google News