Pininfarina and Bollore sign EV deal

Italian car designer and niche producer Pininfarina has signed a deal with France's Bollore group for electric car production for Paris's Autolib project, Reuters reported on Thursday.

The deal strengthens the existing electric car ties between Pininfarina and French businessman Vincent Bollore, whom Pininfarina Chief Executive Silvio Angori would also like as an investor in Pininfarina itself

Under the contract signed on Wednesday, Pininfarina rents a plant and supplies staff for Italian car prototype company Cecomp to make 4,000 electric cars for Bollore for Autolib, which starts in October, Pininfarina said.

Pininfarina gets 14 million euros ($19.33 million) under the three-year rental contract, it said.

In December, Vincent Bollore said he was investing 100 million euros in Autolib after winning the contract to supply cars to the car-sharing program.

Thursday's deal is a key step "towards realizing future production programs for electric vehicles on a wider scale, programs which are the basis of agreements between Pininfarina and Bollore," Pininfarina said.

Pininfarina and Bollore already have a joint venture for electric cars under which Pininfarina has rights to be chosen as the producer of vehicles.