Fiat on Track for 2011 Debut on New Fiat from New $1.2B Plant in Serbia

26 September 2009

Final preparations for the production of a new Fiat automobile in Serbia will be executed within the next few months, according to Serbian Deputy Prime Minister Mlađan Dinkić; the new car should begin rolling off production lines on schedule, in early 2011.

Dinkić made the comment in a speech at the opening of the “Investment Opportunities in Serbia” forum, which was attended by more than 20 Italian auto parts suppliers. Many of those executives are Fiat suppliers and arrived with concrete requirements for sites to build their factories in order to supply Fiat’s Serbian operation.

Serbia’s low tax rate, skilled workforce and geographic location has made it attractive for Italy-based businesses—more than 200 Italian companies employing some 18,000 people have operations in the country already. The country’s business incentives, which typically include providing land and infrastructure as well as roughly $7,500 in cash incentives for each new job created.

Fiat, which received these incentives, plans an initial $1.2 billion investment in Serbia to produce the new car model from a factory in Kragujevac.