Fiat Launches Assembly of New 500L at Serbian JV

VIENNA – Fiat is ramping up production of the new Fiat 500L at its joint-venture plant in Kragujevac, Serbia.

The Fiat Automobili Srbija facility opened in April, and production of cars destined for market started July 4.

The joint venture, owned 67% by Fiat and 33% by the Serbian state, is based on the former Zastava Automobili car plant. The JV employs about 1,700 workers, with 800 new jobs to be added by the end of this year.

“Currently we are producing 50 cars a day,” CEO Antonio Cesare Ferrara tells the Serbian daily Danas. Daily output is seen reaching 550 units by late October or early November.

According to plans published earlier, this year’s production may approach 30,000 vehicles. “We are planning to produce 120,000 to 180,000 cars in 2013, depending on the market situation,” Ferrara says. “We are ready to reach the capacity of 200,000 vehicles if the market would ask for it.”

Production of the 7-seat version of the Fiat 500L is to start in first-half 2013.

In addition, the JV plans to resume assembly of the Fiat Punto Classic in January. In the past, Serbian-assembled Puntos were sold locally and in some countries in Southeast Europe and Africa.