Pininfarina has announced
that the "Bluecar" electric urban car project is to
finally get the green light with the confirmation of
production of 4,000 units destined for a Paris car
sharing scheme in a deal that will see Cecomp leasing
the factory infrastructure.
A statement issued by
Pininfarina yesterday said that the Turinese design and
engineering firm had: "executed a preliminary binding
contract with Cecomp and the Bolloré Group pursuant to
which Pininfarina will lease to Cecomp the business
operations for production of 4,000 electric cars
destined to Autolib, a car sharing service that will be
operational in October 2011 in Paris and in 40 other
municipalities in the Île-de-France district."
The contract is
however subject to union agreement and will run until
December 31, 2013, with cash-strapped Pininfarina
receiving 14 million euros for the lease which will
consist of the Bairo Canavese plant and all its
machinery, equipment and accessories,
some contracts for the supply of utilities as
well as the 57 Pininfarina staff at the plant.
The electric cars that
Cecomp will produce the Bairo Canavese plant - derived
from the Pininfarina Bluecar, a project unveiled at the
2008 Paris Motor Show - will be used for a public
electric car rental service developed by the city of
Paris. The call for tenders to supply 4,000 cars was won
by the Bolloré Group, with which Pininfarina established
the Véhicules Électriques Pininfarina-Bolloré joint
venture for the production of electric cars in 2008.
The Bolloré Group and
Véhicules Electriques Pininfarina-Bolloré undersigned
the contract as guarantors of Cecomp’s obligations not
covered by bank guarantees. The signing of this
agreement represents a key step forward in the
implementation of future programs for the production of
electric cars on a larger scale, which are the basis for
the agreements between Pininfarina and Bolloré.
