Zastava factory to assemble Opel Astras in Serbia

[Flybrian]

GM seals Opel deal with Serbia's Zastava

Link to Original Article @ The Auto Channel

BELGRADE, July 17, 2007; Reuters reported that General Motors Corp. has agreed a deal with Serbia's Zastava for the local production of Opel vehicles, sources close to the deal told Reuters on Tuesday.

Germany-based Opel is part of the GM group. The cars would be assembled in Zastava's complex in Kragujevac, central Serbia.

"They will sign on Thursday," one source told Reuters. "The production of the first Opel Astra vehicles is expected to start in 2008," the source said.

A second source close to the negotiations also confirmed the deal to Reuters.

[vonVeezelsnider]

One Word:

Crap!

[seeAUTOBRIEF]

More on this story:

Zastava Automobili and GM begin cooperation

http://www.autoberza.info/autobrief/?lng=e...d=691&rid=0

As of today, GM's Opel Astra Classic II will be sold in Serbia for a customs-free starting price of 10,800 euros, rather than 13,350 euros. More importantly, Zastava will begin assembling the car next year.

The brand-new, 15 million euro line currently building the Zastava 10 will be used to assemble the Astra Classic II from CKD kits produced in Poland.

GM Director of Sales; Marketing, and Aftersales for South East Europe Markets Duncan Aldred said that General Motors was looking at possibly exporting the Zastava-built car. He also expects Zastava to be building 10,000 cars per year, for GM, by 2012.

Edited July 20, 2007 by seeAUTOBRIEF

[seeAUTOBRIEF]

One Word:

Crap!

Give it a chance!

Emerging markets are growing fast, and GM absolutely must take advantage. GM engineers recently visited Zastava's plant, in a tour organized by Opel's Wolfgang Friedrich, and concluded that the Serbian automaker possessed the technical standards necessary to build Opel cars.

At the foot of the article provided are several links which may shed some light on what Zastava has been up to since it pulled out of the U.S. market following the start of the Yugoslav Civil War in 1991.

[thegriffon]

It's the T3000 Astra Classic, not the new A3300, assembled from kits produced in Poland. It provides consumers in lower-income markets an alternative to used cars and less well-developed Russian and Chinese vehicles.

[Sixty8panther]

It's the YUGO car that was a crapy product of Communism,

the people assembling them are capable of so much better.

[Robert Hall]

Sounds like a good move for GM.

[Clownzilla]

It's the YUGO car that was a crapy product of Communism,

the people assembling them are capable of so much better.

Apparently they are already producing MUCH better cars than they did during the Commie days. Still not anything near world class, but they are slowly improving.

[Z-06]

GM will be the first vehicle manufacturer to build world class cars in Serbia.

[seeAUTOBRIEF]

Serbia's Zastava Automobili (the maker of the car America knew as Yugo) and Opel recently agreed to the Serbian assembly of the Opel Astra Classic II from Polish CKD kits.

With costs in Poland rising, rumors are flying that GM may move production of the car to Serbia.

Given that these are rumors, it is less clear still whether such an arrangement would be contingent upon GM purchasing Zastava in December's upcoming privatization process.

http://www.autoberza.info/autobrief/?lng=e...d=756&rid=0

"If we were to compare euro-denominated employment costs over the last four years, we'd see a 40% jump... I cannot imagine any new car factory being built in Poland" - Romuald Rytwinski, GM head in Poland.

GM produces around 200,000 Astra and Zafira models in a factory in southern Poland.

General Motors signed an agreement with Serbia's Zastava Automobili in July for the assembly of the Astra Classic II, in Serbia, from CKD kits produced in Poland. Now, Serbia's Danas newspaper is reporting that GM is likely to begin moving equipment used for the production of the car to Zastava's factory in Kragujevac...

Danas reports that GM is particularly interested in the privatization of Zastava Automobili, a process slated to take place at the end of 2007. Fiat; Peugeot; Mahindra and Tata of India, and several Chinese automakers have also expressed interest in the Serbian automaker, which currently builds cars in the 3,750 through 9,750 euro range.

Zastava Automobili has, since 1953, been allied with Fiat, producing Fiat vehicles modified to varying degrees.

Last year, Zastava invested 15 million euros in the construction of a thoroughly new production line to build Fiat's Punto II.5 as the Zastava 10. It is this modern, robotized line that has so many companies interested in Zastava, despite the company's severe problems in the '90s due to the Yugoslav Civil War.

Edited October 12, 2007 by seeAUTOBRIEF