"Topolino" from Šumadija - Italians submitted first concrete projects for company "Fiat Srbija"

- Experts from Italian company "Fiat" have submitted the first projects to the authorized people in Serbia, which point to the fact that 15 large accompanying companies from Italy will arrive in the center of Šumadija together with that Italian company - "Novosti" learnt from the reliable sources.

The team of "Fiat's" experts, lead by Diego Velinni, the chief project engineer in that Italian company, is not using the collective annual vacation for the first time ever, and the reason is the business in "Zastava".

The project has already been delivered in order for the most important works in Šumadija to start before September. These works are: design of general land-utilization plan for the industrial zone in Korman field, organization of "Gromović" entrance to the factory, and the works on Kragujevac - Batočina highway.

According to the project, which is the forerunner of complete business plan of company "Fiat" for the business in Serbia, the units of 15 factories of Italian accompanying industry will be built in this industrial zone.

That project is worth about 240m EUR. Besides, there is also a precise plan for production of "punto", which anticipates annual production of up to 50,000 such vehicles in Kragujevac, while the business plan for production of new model of, most probably, A class (240,000 vehicles per year), and the plan for payment of 200m EUR worth of founding share by the end of the year, will be revealed at the end of September.

That plan should be presented to the authorized people in Serbia at the end of next month by Alfredo Altavila, the second man of "Fiat".

As "Novosti" learned from an unofficial source, experts from "Fiat" have thoroughly developed two versions of the final business plan for projects in our country. One of them anticipates production of 140,000 automobiles of B class per year, and its realization should start after the winter break in 2011. The other version anticipates production of 240,000 automobiles per year starting from the end of the next year.

Pripreme "Zastave" za ove poslove u toku ove i početkom naredne godine skoro su identične, ali će "Fiat" prelomiti najverovatnije krajem sledećeg meseca.

"Novosti" finds out that Italian experts are going to suggest the management of "Fiat" that the first model produced in Kragujevac should be "topolino", a small city automobile, and that about 240,000 such vehicles should be produced on annual basis. Production of "topolino" should be followed by production of B model, which had also been the plan before the global economic crisis started.

PLAN AND VACATIONS

- Delivery of draft projects at the time of annual vacations in "Fiat" is the best proof of importance that the Italians attribute to the business in Serbia - says the reliable source of "Novosti".

- The members of the negotiation team from Serbia will not be able to go on vacation in August as well.

PRODUCTION

About 4,000 "punto" vehicles will be manufactured every month in the "Zastava" units starting September, and that is also the number of "punto" vehicles produced in "Zastava" during the whole year 2008.

(Note: complete text is taken over from newspaper "Novosti" of August 7, 2009)