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Tata-Fiat JV for pickup trucks in
Argentina
BY OUR AUTO CORRESPONDENT
February 16, 2006: Italian auto
giant Fiat has formed a joint venture
with India’s Tata Motors to make
pick-up trucks in Argentina. The
amount of money to be pumped into the
project has been estimated at $80
million.
The two companies already have a joint
venture since last July. Now they are
expanding their strategic co-operation
for starting an industrial project
outside India.
The joint venture, which calls for
Tata license to build a pick-up
vehicle, bearing the Fiat nameplate at
Fiat Group Automobiles' plant in
Cordoba, Argentina, follows a
feasibility study started in July
2006, said a report.
The first vehicles from the Argentine
JV are expected to roll off the
Cordoba assembly lines from 2008 with
an annual production target slated
around 20,000 vehicle. The Tata Group
said that the vehicle, based on the
new generation Tata pick-up truck,
will be sold in South and Central
America and select European markets
through Fiat Automobiles' distribution
and importer network.
Besides, the joint venture is seen as
helping the Fiat brand to aggressively
enter the medium pick-up sector.
Engines for the pick-up will be
manufactured in Fiat Powertrain
Technology's facility in Sete Lagoas
in Brazil, another report said.
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