Cleary Gottlieb represented Fiat in connection with its 50-50 joint venture with Sollers (formerly Severstal-Auto), a leading Russian automaker, for the manufacture and distribution of Fiat passenger cars and the production of Fiat engines in Russia, which was signed at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum on June 7.
The deal marks a deepening of the strategic alliance between Fiat and Sollers, which started in 2006, and is in keeping with Fiat’s strategy to expand its presence in the Russian market (which is expected to become the biggest European market for new car sales by 2012, and is now third in Europe after Germany and Italy).
