Pininfarina — an Italian design and engineering company — may be best known for its design work with Ferrari , but Pininfarina has been working with several Chinese companies as of late. In fact, about 30 percent of the company’s business comes from Chinese firms. No where will this fact be more apparent than at this month’s Beijing Motor Show.
Three Pininfarina-penned cars will make their debut at the Beijing Motor show — the Anhui Jianghuai A107 and A108 (pictured) and the Brilliance BS4 station wagon — all three designed and engineered by the Italian company.
But there is a reason behind the Italian design — all three cars will eventually be sold in Europe.
According to Automotive News, Chinese automakers have been enlisting the services of Pininfarina for quite some time now. Pininfarina inked its first contract with a Chinese automaker — Hafei Motor — back in 1996, with the first production Pininfarina-designed Chinese car hitting the streets in 1999.
Since that first contract in 1996, Chinese automakers have grown to become 30 percent of Pininfarina’s current business.
