Italian coachbuilder Pininfarina is seeking a £77m investment in order to ensure its future.Analysts are putting the massive losses sustained by the 78-year old coachbuilder (£87m in 2007) down to taking on too much work in the past, with quality suffering as a result. In recent years, a large part of the company's business has come from designing and constructing small volume niche models for major manufacturers, with recent examples including the Mitsubishi Colt CZC and Alfa Romeo Brera.But manufacturers have been moving away from such third-party construction, and as a result Pininfarina has announced that it will scale back its car production activities and take a "more selective approach to contract vehicle manufacturing".
Join the debate
Add your comment
Re: Pininfarina seeks investment to survive
It'll be benificial for Ferrari to invest or take over Pininfarina. Pininfarina has designed (almost) every Ferrari ever made and It will be a sad day in the car world if it doesnt survive. It would be really a great loss to see this great name die. They've been resposible for some of the msot beautiful cars in the world. The Ferrari 456GT, Peugeot 406 Coupe and the current Maserati Quattroporte & GranTurismo comes to mind. Come on Ferrari!Re: Pininfarina seeks investment to survive
I'm very, very sad to read this, and not just because they lovingly assembled my current motor (lovingly, if not particularly rigidly).
The automotive world would be a poorer place without companies like Pininfarina. The name is woven into the fabric of post-war cars, from my dad's Austin Cambridge to the recent sublime Ferrari P4/5 bodied Enzo. With the trouble surrounding Bertone at the moment it's indeed a sad day. If only a few more mainstream manufacturers would take up their services; who knows, even a VW Toureg could be made attractive. I hope they find an appropriate investor; ideally the rejuvenated FIAT Group will see sense and invest some of those '500' millions...