Serial production of Fiat 500L in Kragujevac starts April 2012

Ciric told Beta news agency that exports of that model were expected to be worth between €1.1 and €1.3 billion per year.

The Minister said that the Kragujevac factory Fiat Automobili Serbia, a joint venture of the Serbian government and Italy's Fiat, had the production capacity of 200,000 vehicles a year, and potentially even up to 300,000.

He pointed out that the mass production of Fiat 500L in Kragujevac would begin in April, while exports to the EU were scheduled for June.

This model, in versions with five and seven seats, will be produced only in the factory in Kragujevac, he said.

The new model will be presented March 6th at the International Motor Show in Geneva.