Italy’s Fiat seeks to open an assembly line in Romania, according to sources from within the local car market, ‘Business Standard’ reports.

According to those sources, the Romanian Government is due to discuss with the Fiat representatives the company’s interest in a possible investment. A delegation of the Italian giant is currently present in Bucharest. In turn, Mario Cospito, the Italian Ambassador in Romania, has confirmed for ‘Business Standard’ that Fiat is interested in investing in our country, however he provided no details.

According to ‘Cotidianul’ daily, the announcement about the potential investment came after Luca Cordero di Montezemolo, the president of Fiat, visited Romania in May, taking part in the General Assembly of the National Council of the Italian Investors’ Employers Association. On that occasion Romanian Prime Minister Calin Popescu Tariceanu invited him to invest in our country.

According to the aforementioned sources, for the time being no decision has been taken on the value of the investment and no possible location has been chosen.

Fiat entered Romania this year with the Ferrari luxury brand, through the Forza Rossa importer. Iveco, Fiat, Lancia and Alfa Romeo brands also are part of the Italian giant’s portfolio.

While Ernest Popovici, the president of the Car Manufacturers and Importers Association (APIA), states that the Romanian market could be able to accommodate the third car manufacturer, Constantin Stroe, the president of the Association of Car Manufacturers in Romania, claims that Fiat would actually enter the car parts manufacturing industry in Romania. However the aforementioned sources did not point out what the company could locally produce.

One could comment that Romania was one of the sole Eastern European states where Fiat had not been present before 1989. Some say this could be the result of the inclination Ceausescu had for France, that led to the concluding of the contract for Dacia car making with Renault.