Fiat Auto president and chief executive officer Giancarlo Boschetti, of S.p.A., and Suzuki Motor Corporation chairman and CEO Osamu Suzuki on Thursday signed a memorandum of understanding to jointly develop a new sport utility vehicle (SUV).
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At a press conference in Budapest, Boschetti and Suzuki stressed that the new vehicles will be distinctively styled.
The new SUVs will be based on Suzuki’s new A-segment platform and production will begin in the second half of 2005 at the Magyar Suzuki Corporation facility in Estergom, near Budapest, Hungary.
The five-door models will have both diesel and petrol engines. Fiat Auto and Suzuki will distribute the SUVs independently through their own dealership networks.
No financial details were disclosed.
Suzuki produces Chevrolet-badged derivatives of its Vitara/Escudo SUV for General Motors at plants in Canada and Brazil and has also jointly developed a small minivan with GM’s Opel unit for sale in Europe. Opel’s version is made in Poland while the Suzuki model is built at the Magyar plant in Hungary.
