Bertone’s design arm is on the brink of bankruptcy following years of mounting losses.
Although it has produced concept cars for almost every major European auto show held in the past few years, Bertone’s order book has been nearly empty for a long time and it is operating in the red. A new sub-division called Bertone Workshop that aims to build one-off cars at the request of the lucky few that can afford it also failed to win over customers, so the company’s 165 workers have reportedly been furloughed without pay and ten interns have been sent home for good.
A court administrator is in the process of finding a new buyer for Bertone. An unidentified company based in Turkey has expressed an interest in buying the design firm and its assets for the relatively low sum of €2 million (approximately $1.37 million). The deal will be presented to an Italian judge over the coming days and, if approved, Bertone will file for bankruptcy early next year in order to facilitate the change of ownership.
If the Turkish deal falls through, Italian media outlets are reporting that seven other parties have voiced an interest in buying the company but none have been identified.
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