Answer: Zastava Automobiles
Zastava Automobiles is a Serbian industrial conglomerate based in the city of Kragujevac, 86 miles (138 km) southeast of Belgrade run as a joint venture between the Fiat Group (67 %) and the Serbian government. It is most known for its Fiat-based automobiles, which began assembling in 1955 for Eastern European markets. The firm also manufactures military and sporting small arms, most of them based on Russian and German design, under the name Zastava Arms.
On 28 July 2008, Fiat signed a letter of intent, undertaking to take control of the automobile division, investing €700 million in return for a 70 percent stake in the company (currently owned by the state) and an additional €100 million of investment from the Serbian government. This was later revised to €300 million. Fiat pledged not to cut any jobs and to make good a backlog in wage payments for employees and hinted that the plant may become a dedicated Fiat production site. With this major investment, production is set to reach 300 000 units by 2011.
