Fiat bids for Bertone

Who’s gonna stop Fiat as its appetite for acquiring automakers has growing over the years and becoming a much larger group than expected. Today it was confirmed that Fiat S.p.A will make a ‘non-binding offer’ for Italian automotive design and contract manufacturing firm, Carrozeria Bertone that could be sold as part of a
bankruptcy proceeding. Fiat’s offer is one of five for the dormant coachbuilder. The others bidders include Italian entrepreneurs Gianmario Rossignolo and Domenico Reviglio, Chinese automaker FAW Group Corp. and an unnamed Spanish consortium.

The deadline to make bids for the Bertone unit is July 16.
Italian bankruptcy court administrators plan to name the winning bidder by the end of the month. Fiat declined to say what it plans to build at Bertone’s Turin factory, which has an annual capacity of
70,000 units in two shifts. With three shifts, capacity could reach 100,000 units a year. Italy’s oldest contract manufacturer stopped volume production in December 2005.