Fiat has said it would make a non-binding offer to buy struggling Italian contract manufacturer Carrozzeria Bertone. The carmaker joins Italian entrepreneurs Gianmario Rossignolo and Domenico Reviglio, Chinese automaker FAW Group and an unnamed Spanish consortium in bidding for the coachmaker.


The deadline for bids is tomorrow (16 July) and Italian bankruptcy court administrators plan to name the winning bidder by the end of the month.


Fiat declined to reveal its plan for Bertone and its Turin factory, which has an annual capacity of 70,000 units in two shifts or 100,000 with three shifts.


Bertone still employs about 1,140 people, down from the 1,450 it had at the end of 2007.