- China's Beijing Auto (BAIC) is said to have put in a bid to buy Pininfarina.
- Pininfarina and BAIC are collaborating on a next-generation version of the Saab 9-3.
- The car would be sold under the Beijing Auto brand and could be unveiled in 2011.
BEIJING — China's Beijing Automotive Industry Holding Corp., or BAIC, is reportedly making a bid to purchase Italian design firm Pininfarina, which has been up for sale for months now.
BAIC previously purchased the tooling, powertrain technology and intellectual property related to the current Saab 9-3. The Chinese automaker is working on new models based on the 9-3 that it intends to sell under the Beijing Auto brand, and Pininfarina is reportedly involved in the design of that car.
Chinese news Web site eeo.com.cn this week quoted an unnamed BAIC executive as saying he had just returned from Italy, where he talked with Pininfarina about the companies' joint work on a next-generation version of the Saab 9-3 that would make its debut at the 2011 Beijing Auto Show.
The same media outlet reports that Brilliance Auto and Anhui Jiangling of China; Mahindra and Bajaj of India; and Magna International of Canada are also bidding to buy the Italian design firm.
Inside Line says: Pininfarina will eventually end up in the hands of someone other than the Italians. — Laura Sky Brown, Correspondent
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delraylocal says:
02:29 PM, 01/02/2011
Someday we will all be wearing funny looking pajamas taking apart the railroads.
kkear3 says:
06:01 AM, 01/02/2011
Imagine how the British felt when Ford bought Jaguar (probably relieved), Land Rover, and Aston Martin and subsequently sold Jaguar and Land Rover to Tata. Imagine how they felt when the Germans bought Rolls Royce, Bentley, and Mini. In almost every case, it worked out for the better for those brands although the Chinese are villified more so than us Americans or the Germans ever were, if that is possible.
jscion says:
07:52 PM, 12/31/2010
WOW!!! Even Pininfarina is going to China??? On a better note, it will probably result in a much better looking Saab 9-3. Chinese cars are crappy now but so were Korean cars, so were Japanese cars.... Fifteen or Twenty years from now, I bet there will be a Chinese car that will be one of the best selling vehicles in the U.S. You never would've guessed 25 years ago that Hyundai would be what it is today, right?
irvg37 says:
05:52 PM, 12/31/2010
what a sad moment. it's such a giant misfortune that this recession has brought about. and i'm saying this not out of racist bias against the chinese, but honestly, chinese auto industry has only produced the most abominable car designs the human race has ever seen.
i'm hoping that, w. the purchase of Pininfarina, the chinese auto industry cleanses, purifies themselves of all of their garbage designs and start over from scratch with all things Pininfarina.
unfortunately my hope may never materialize and Pininfarina may end up taking the same path that Sony, Panasonic, Sanyo, and all the formerly venerable japanese electronics companies have taken w. the transfer of manufacturing to china... deep shittization of product quality. or maybe the whole thign might turn out like the Kia story w. Peter Schreyer.
billymay says:
01:43 PM, 12/31/2010
Pininfarina lost its touch after the beautiful Ferrari Daytona, 206/246 and 308/328. The 458 was a hell of a lot better than the awkward amoebas that came before it, and the California/599, but it's pretty much down to technology and math these days. Not sure China would be getting much more than the name at this point.
sinna46 says:
07:55 AM, 12/31/2010
Maybe Giugiaro can start doing Ferraris!
etanretla says:
08:35 PM, 12/30/2010
so much for being purist...i guess everything is for sale, if its the right price...with all the money the chinese are willing to spend, why cant they just carve their own niche?..theres something wrong with dipping dumplings in pesto sauce...
throwback says:
11:02 AM, 12/30/2010
Judging by how much of a puritan Luca is, I'm guessing if this deal goes through Pininfarina wont be designing any more Ferraris.
gmhl10 says:
10:35 AM, 12/30/2010
Looks like the Chinese don't want to just rip-off designs anymore...
akula1 says:
10:23 AM, 12/30/2010
Gnocchi and eggrolls. Sounds like crap. Thanks for the 458 and everything before it, you will be missed.