Fiat Eyes Second Plant in China

Fiat SpA is considering erecting a new assembly plant in southern China, Jack Cheng, general manager of the company's Chinese joint venture with Guangzhou Automobiles Group Co., tells Bloomberg News.

The venture, GAC Fiat Automobile Co., began building the Viaggio compact car in June at its first factory, which is located in Changsha in central Hunan province. The new facility has annual capacity of 140,000 vehicles, which eventually could be boosted to more than 300,000 units.

The Changsha plant is equipped to produce four models based on two platforms, according to Fiat. The company plans to debut one new model per year in China, including an SUV in 2014. Fiat has said the existing factory might produce Alfa Romeo and Jeep models in future.

The Viaggio goes on sale in China on Sunday at a base price of 108,800 yuan ($17,200). The company, which has about 1,000 advance orders for the car, plans to add 12 new dealerships in the next few weeks for a total of 100 outlets.

The Viaggio is Fiat's first China-made model since 2007, when the company ended an unsuccessful joint venture with Nanjing Automobile. Fiat scrapped a venture with Chery Automobile in mid-2009 before any cars were made.

Analysts opine it will be difficult for the little-known Fiat brand to get the consumers' attention in the country's already crowded market. The company, which imports the 500 minicar, Bravo hatchback and Freemont SUV, accounted for 900 of the 18.5 million vehicles sold in China last year.