On April 14, a commercial court in France will hold a hearing during which it will be decided whether the company will enter bankruptcy. By that time it might be all over, as Heuliez already said it only has funds to last it up until the middle of this month, Autonews reported.
Towards the end of March, the country's strategic investment fund (FSI) said it might give the struggling manufacturer a 10 million euros investment, but only as part of a larger group of investors who are willing to chip in until all the money required for the company to survive (45 million euros) is raised.
FSI also conditioned its investments on some types of assurances that Heuliez is a viable company. On the other hand, the French government has been urged by a group of politicians led by former presidential candidate Segolene Royal to step in and provide the rest of the money.
Royal, president of the Poitou-Charentes region is directly concerned about the faith of the manufacturer as Heuliez is the region's largest employer, making thousands of jobs to depend on the future of the coachbuilder.
As for the Friendly, is not exactly sure at this point what is the course of action. After being deemed as ready for order as scheduled for delivery in early 2010, it is yet unclear what its faith will be. Still, if the company survives and despite the high price (12,000 euros) and strange choice of design, Heuliez plans on selling no less than 10,000 units a year.
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