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| First Punto rolls off Zastava production line |
| 31 March 2009 | 12:27
| Source:
B92 |
KRAGUJEVAC --
The first Fiat Punto Classic, the first in a test series of 35 cars, has rolled off the production line in Kragujevac today.
Without any great pomp or ceremony, but under the ever watchful eye of the media, Fiat Automobiles Serbia CEO Giovanni De Filippis, on a visit to the production line, said that the first batch of Puntos, all in beige, would be delivered to buyers in mid-April.
The vehicles still have to undergo a quality test.
The plan is to assemble a further 100 vehicles per shift, with around 500 personnel working on the job, in line with current demand.
“We’ll try to satisfy our buyers’ demands as soon as possible. You yourselves have reported feedback from the market that there have been around 19,000 orders. That’s why we’re looking at the possibility of delivering that quantity of vehicles to buyers as quickly as possible,“ said Zastava Auto Director Zoran Bogdanoviĉ.
According to De Filippis, buyers will receive the first cars in mid-April, while investments will be made in the meantime in enhancing production capacities.
“We’ve completed a quality check on all the cars and we can confirm that the first cars will come off the production line in April, when the whole process will be finished. We’re investing in modernizing the production line, as well as the painting facilities to raise the quality, and also in the volume of cars we produce,“ explained the CEO.
Also of great interest to reporters was whether the Italians would be able to pay off the EUR 200mn founding capital by the deadline of March 31.
“What we can say today is that we will increase that number of vehicles to be produced compared to our initial plans, and that is around 4,500 vehicles,“ said Aleksandar Ljubiĉ from the Privatization Agency.
“Our plan is for the number of vehicles to reach 15,000, and to raise the number of vehicles we’ll be producing on an annual basis to above 15,000. In any case, what I can assure you is that everyone who wants an automobile will get one,“ he said.
It is expected that annual production levels will be considerably higher than planned, with the figure predicted to reach as high as 15,000.
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