Fiat Delays Signing of Final Contract for Serbian JV

VIENNA – Fiat Automobiles SpA again postpones the signing of a supplementary contract with the Serbian government regarding its Fiat Automobili Srbija joint venture.

The new deal, which would expand on an original agreement inked in September 2008, was expected to be finalized this week.

Fiat is to provide €100 million ($149 million) in the JV’s share capital once the supplementary contract is signed. The original agreement called for Fiat to supply €200 million ($298 million).

Fiat has yet to announce the first model to be manufactured at the former Zastava Vozila plant in Kragujevac, which currently only assembles the Fiat Punto Classic from complete-knocked-down kits sourced from Italy.

“We continue to work diligently on the development of Fiat’s project in Serbia,” Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne says in a statement published following criticism of the latest postponement by Serbian media.

“Having completed the assessment of Chrysler (Group LLC)’s industrial plan, we are now finalizing the European portion.

“We are now moving quickly to finalize the determination of the platform allocation to the plant in Kragujevac, Serbia, which based on our findings to date, suggests the output could find multiple allocations, including Western and Eastern Europe, Russia and North America,” Marchionne adds.

Final plans for the Serbian plant are expected to be announced by the end of December.