Fiat targets collaboration with Changan Motor

Shanghai, August 22 (Gasgoo.com) The Fiat Group may seek to cooperate with Chang'an Motor Corp, the Chinese partner of Ford Motor and Suzuki Motor, China's auto website sohu.com said today.

The Italian automaker, through Fiat Powertrain Technologies (FPT), announced Tuesday to invest some 1.8 billion yuan (US$2.6 million) in production of the 100,000 engines in the Chongqing municipality of southwest China, where Changan is based. Seventy of the output will be exported.

Fiat may seek to cooperate with Changan after talks with Chery Auto reportedly disrupted. In August 2007, Fiat and Chery signed a memorandum of understanding to build a 50:50 passenger vehicle joint venture and an engine supply contract, but the talks began to stall in early 2008 when Fiat pulled out of Nanjing Auto. In the joint venture, Chery and Fiat had plans to locally produce Fiat Linea, Bravo and Grand Punto, but Fiat cannot satisfy Chery's desire for another model: Alfa Romeo.

Last night Fiat official started to sell the Linea, Bravo and Grand Punto models in China through import channels, with their Chinese name settled down as Boyue, Lingya and Pengduo in Pinyin.