TURIN, Italy, Dec. 21 (UPI) -- Serbian President Boris Tadic and Fiat Chief Executive Officer Sergio Marchionne said Fiat would invest $143 million in Zastava cars by the end of the year.
The payment is the first of a total of $1 billion Fiat said in April 2008 it would invest in production in Serbia, B92 reported Monday.
The agreement was struck during Tadic's recent trip to Turin, Italy. Previous payments had been delayed due to the global economic downturn, Marchionne said.
"Finally we're in a position to, before the end of 2009, invest money and start working in Kragujevac," Marchionne said. "The reason why this process was postponed for more than we expected is the economic crisis."
"The car that President Tadic will see is recession-proof," he added.
Tadic, meanwhile, said the production of two new Zastava cars would begin with a run of about 200,000 cars a year. Marchionne, in turn, said production should begin in early 2010.
