The Europe car giant is targeting to sell some 10million units by 2018 and is aggressively marketing its 10 brands under the VW group. They recently added Porsche into their stable after a lengthy discussion period and for 2010 alone, they are planning to roll out some 60 new or upgraded models in all of its brands.
Italdesign Giugiaro, if one could recall is the company responsible for designing Proton’s first hybrid vehicle the Emas. The company was founded in 1968 by Giorgetto Giugiaro where he is still the chairman while Fabrizio Giugiaro, his son is head of the design and model division and recorded a total revenue of €136 million in 2008. No confirmation has yet been received from both the companies although insider sources said that the official announcement could be expected as early as next week. It is also expected that both the father and son will be retained even after the takeover.
Apart from the Emas, they have also been involved in designing the new sedan and station wagon models of the Alfa Romeo 159, the Brera Coup, Fiat’s Idea and Grande Punto as well as the Suzuki SX4. In most cases, the design are always publicize but seldom disclose its engineering information except for the second-generation of the Mini’s hatchback, convertible and Clubman which was the only time in the last 5 years when they were credited for their engineering contributions. They had also previously worked with VW when they designed the first generation Golf, the Passat, Scirocco and the Audi 80 as well as the whole VW’s W12 concept family models.
