Italian carmaker Fiat to start production at factory famous for the Yugo

(16 Apr 2012) 1. Medium of the new model Fiat 500L 2. Close of the Fiat 500L front end 3. Medium of the Fiat 500L from the side 4. Wide of a Fiat 500L being driven onto a stage before photographers 5. SOUNDBITE (Serbian) Mirko Cvetkovic, Serbian Prime Minister: "We are happy to say that now we have one of the most modern car factories in the world. We now have a model that is going to be produced exclusively here in Serbia and "made in Serbia" is going to be found on a quality car model." 5. Medium of Fiat workers watching ceremonial proceedings 6. SOUNDBITE (English), Sergio Marchionne, Fiat and Chrysler chief executive officer: "We have developed a distinctive new product which is now ready for the market. We have created employment and new opportunities in Kragujevac and we''re ready for a successful tomorrow. Now, translated into numbers this will mean that we will have made investments of around a (b) billion Euros (1.3 (b) billion US dollars), production of around 200,000 cars per year once the plant becomes fully operational, and the creation of some 2,400 jobs directly within the plan, as well as another 1,000 jobs for suppliers hopefully by the end of this year." 7. Various of the production line with the workers putting together the new model STORYLINE: Italian carmaker Fiat opened a production line in Kragujevac, Serbia, Monday for the new family version of its popular 500 city car. Fiat hopes to sell about 160,000 to 200,000 hatchbacks a year produced in this central Serbian town, which was selected to take advantage of low wages, tax breaks and government subsidies. The Italian carmaker said the four-door 500L - the L stands for large - multipurpose vehicle is designed to be generous in its size and features, and ecological and simple to drive. Fiat and Chrysler chief executive Sergio Marchionne attended the re-opening ceremonies for the factory and said the new vehicle is designed to appeal to markets on both sides of the Atlantic. Fiat and the Serbian government have a 67-33 percent split share respectively in the joint company building the new cars. Marchionne estimated 1 (b) billion euros ($1.3 (b) billion) was invested in the refurbishing and equipping of the old Zastava car factory in Kragujevac for the new Fiat production line. The original factory produced the Yugo, a boxy little model that was considered in the 1980s to be the worst-quality car ever imported to the U.S. By the end of 2012, Fiat estimate 2,400 people will be employed at the plant plus a further 1,000 jobs will be created with suppliers. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter: https://twitter.com/AP_Archive Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/APArchives ​​ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/APNews/ You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/youtube/15b5f32efe62a0b6b19e31d96d2d47bc

Added 3 Apr 2026