Fiat To Build Jeeps in Russia, Report Says
February 17, 2010
Fiat's new venture in Russia with OAO Sollers plans to produce as many as 150,000 Jeep SUVs a year, the Russian business newspaper Vedomosti reported Wednesday, citing analysts who participated in a company conference call.
Chrysler, under Fiat control, is looking largely at Jeep to help it more than double its international sales to 500,000 vehicles a year by 2014.
Fiat/Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne just signed the deal with Sollers last week, cancelling his keynote speech before the Economic Club of Chicago in conjunction with the Chicago auto show to do so.
Major Global Step for Chrysler and Jeep
Russian production of Jeeps is a major step for the brand as well as its parent. A cornerstone of Chrysler's recovery plan, laid out by Marchionne last November, is to sell more vehicles not only in North America but internationally.
Chrysler's goal is to sell 500,000 vehicles outside of North America by 2014; in 2008, it sold 215,000 outside of the continent.
Jeep and specifically the Jeep Wrangler will the anchor for that plan, Chrysler executives said in November. They confirmed then that the Wrangler will get a diesel engine, making it more desirable for overseas markets. Fiat has not confirmed if it will be the Wrangler to be built in Russia, but it's a good guess that it is.
Fiat's venture in Russia also is a boost to the country that has seen car sales skyrocket and then plummet in the past couple of years. Fiat's deal is the first foreign investment in the country since 2008. -- Michelle Krebs, Senior Analyst and Editor at Large
Posted by Michelle Krebs at 5:38 AM under Business , Chrysler | Comments (0) | digg this | Seed Newsvine
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