Fiat, Sollers look at expanding production

MILAN, Italy - Fiat Group Automobiles and OJSC Sollers on Thursday signed a letter of intent to possibly expand production of Fiat brand cars in Russia, where demand remains strong despite the slowdown in the industry in Europe and the United States.

The companies are looking at launching production of a mid-size or family-size Fiat brand car, or both, at the Tatarstan plant where the automakers already produce the Fiat Albea, Dolbo and Ducato models, the automakers said in a joint statement.

The deal was one of a number signed during an Italian-Russian summit between Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi.

Fiat's joint venture with Sollers, formerly Severstal, dates from 2006, and is part of Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne's strategy of targeted partnerships to share costs and enter new markets.

Sollers CEO Vadim Shvetsov said the Russian automotive market still has great potential for growth, and that producing a variety of Fiat cars in Russia would make them very competitive.

"Despite the current slowdown, the demand for new cars will remain high and concentrated on the vehicles locally produced in Russia," Shvetsov said in a statement.

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