Pininfarina has returned to Geneva in the company of two historical customers, Maserati and Peugeot, as the design house prepares to meet the challenges of the new year, first and foremost with the production of more than 60,000 vehicles. Design is confirmed as the Company’s hub of excellence at an international level This year, Pininfarina will turn out more than 60,000 vehicles at its four plants in Italy and Sweden. An operation that, in the last few years, has required an unprecedented financial and industrial tour de force by the company headed by Andrea Pininfarina.

“In its long history - explains Pininfarina Group Chairman and CEO - our Company has never launched concurrent production of five new models, as happened between 2005 and 2006, with the Alfa Romeo Spider, Alfa Romeo Brera, Ford Focus Coupé-Cabriolet, Mitsubishi Colt CZC and Volvo C70. However, our efforts have not been in vain: in 2007, we will double the 35,000 vehicles produced in 2006, and complete on-stream production will promote a reversal of trend in earnings. This is the main challenge facing us in 2007."

Apart from a boom in production, what else is on the books for 2007? Our strategy moves in three directions: internationalization, i.e. gain a firm footing on major marketplaces, while remaining close to our customers; innovation of design and engineering; diversification. Although the production sector was at the top of our list of priorities in 2006, we continued to dedicate our usual attention to these factors, as demonstrated by the new T-Belt system installed in the Wind Tunnel that broadens our range of services also in the racing sector, and by our return to constructing one-offs such as the Ferrari 612 Scaglietti “K” and P4/5 by Pininfarina, built for two American collectors.
 

Pininfarina’s latest creation is badged Maserati Yes, the Maserati GranTurismo, the great novelty at the Geneva Show where it makes its world debut. Technically speaking, this new coupé, with its decidedly sporting temperament, has the advantage of deriving from such a well tested-and-tried product such as the Quattroporte, the “flagship” that marked our renewed cooperation with Maserati and which scored a great success, also winning numerous international awards.

The input as regards styling came from Pininfarina: the GranTurismo is, in fact, inspired by our Birdcage 75th concept. We are very proud to continue such a high prestige partnership with a vehicle that will promote ”Made in Italy” all over the world, as already happened with the Quattroporte, presented in January at the Detroit Auto Show in the new Automatic version designed for American customers.

At Geneva, you are also showcasing Peugeot’s new Expert Van. Are you thinking of exploring the commercial vehicles sector? This project in the field of commercial vehicles is only the most recent offshoot of our more than 50 years’ cooperation with Peugeot, dotted with major milestones such as the 504 Cabriolet or the 406 Coupé. Just two years ago, together with Peugeot, we presented the 1007, an MPV with a revolutionary architecture characterized by an innovative system of sliding side doors. It was natural, therefore, for our Customer to ask us to also explore other areas. In particular, we designed the cab of the third generation of Expert vans, developed by the PSA Peugeot Citroën Group in partnership with Fiat. We hope that, in the future, we will have also a chance to participate in designing the exterior of this or of another range of commercial vehicles. We started out as creators of cars, but have been involved in very different means of transport for many years: our Design Centre has styled trains, buses, trams, industrial vehicles, without forgetting our projects in the boat and aircraft sectors.

News as regards services? For some years now, we have been channelling energy and resources into identifying new customers also in the design and engineering services sector. Our attention to this area is reflected in our efforts to locate the supply of engineering services close to customers and potential customers on major markets: in Germany, for example, we have stepped up our operations as a supplier of high value-added engineering services, reconfiguring Pininfarina Deutschland’s mission in line with Group engineering activities and acquiring a new business unit, the Munich-based MPX GmbH, whose activities can be integrated immediately, in technical and commercial terms, with Pininfarina’s service package. In France, the Matra Automobile Engineering Group, headed since January by General Manager Claude Mauléon, continues its excellent performance: in three years, the engineering “start-up” has lived up to expectations, with a ten-fold increase in sales. Today, our business in France and Germany is a major element of Pininfarina’s all-round offer.

In the last six months, you have also acted as Styling Director of the company. What is the role of design for Pininfarina? Design has been and will continue to be Pininfarina’s hub of excellence. We firmly intend to control and govern creativity and this explains why the Pininfarina design sector has remained in Turin. It is here that we demonstrate our ability to select and address activities able to expand and promote growth of business in other sectors, such as engineering and production. However, we want to be sure that we express our style through the best possible professional competences available on the market: this is why we have decided to appoint three Pininfarina Chief Designers, very different from each other as regards background and personality, in order to create improved working environments and to deploy a culture of design through which we are able to express ourselves in all the sectors.

I am convinced that design continues to be not only a factor of distinction, also for our customers, but also a source of far-reaching innovation and an essential element of our brand value. What is more, it is a distinctive factor, as shown by the agreement recently signed in India with the National Institute of Design to begin pursuing and furthering collaborative design activities in the field of Automotive design including strengthening of education, student internships and applied research.