Fiat group to double India sourcing to $1 billion in 2010

ERJ staff report (AN)

New Delhi (Reuters) -- Fiat SpA's purchasing division plans to source $1 billion of parts from India in 2010, a senior executive said on Thursday. That is up from a planned $400 million to $500 million of components sourced from India this year, he said.

"Our target is to source $1 billion in 2010," Franco Cavallotti, Fiat Group Purchasing vice president of international purchasing, told reporters at an industry conference here. That would be about 5 percent of its global sourcing.

Of the $1 billion, about $700 million would be for Fiat India Automobiles, the company's joint venture with Tata Motors Ltd., and the remainder for export, Cavallotti said.

Fiat Group Purchasing is the company that manages purchasing for the entire Fiat group.

Fiat controls Chrysler Group. The integration of Fiat and Chrysler purchasing operations is still at a very preliminary phase. Fiat is buying parts in India for the Grande Punto and Linea, models not planned for the US.

From Automotive News (A Crain publication)