Italy's Pininfarina will soon draw bulk of revenue from China
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BEIJING -- China is poised to surpass Germany as Pininfarina's largest market by year end, company CEO Silvio Pietro Angori says.
China and Germany each generates about 35 percent of the Italian design house's revenue. Italy contributes about 20 percent and other markets generate the rest, according to Angori.
Pininfarina, which entered China in 1996, is the first Western design house to work with Chinese automakers.
Chinese clients include Jianghuai Automobile Co., Shenyang Brilliance Jinbei Automobile Co., China FAW Group Corp., Chery Automobile Co., Great Wall Motor Co., SAIC Motor Corp. and Beijing Automotive Industry Holding Corp.
Some Chinese automakers rely heavily on Pininfarina for car design. "We have designed 80 percent of Brilliance's product portfolio," Angori said at the Beijing auto show.
Pininfarina also helped Chery design two high-volume models: the Chery A3 compact and the Chery Tiggo compact SUV.
Pininfarina set up a subsidiary in suburban Shanghai in 2010. To support its business growth in China, the company plans to significantly increase the subsidiary's staffing over the next few years, Angori said.
