Beijing Automotive may bid for Pininfarina

The Italian design firm is up for sale, and Beijing Automotive are said to be pondering a bid in order to create a stylish new generation of vehicles, based on the Saab 9-3, of which BAIC acquired the intellectual property rights to the car last year.

A bidding war is expected to ensue for control of Pininfarina, but Beijing Automotive have fired the first salvo and are the favourites currently to win the bid for the design house. The ambitious Chinese company will want to add to its acquisitions following the purchase to the rights to the Saab 9-3 from General Motors.

Pininfarina is one of the most famous names in automotive design, and have come up with a number of high-profile concept cars recently, such as the Rolls-Royce Hyperion, the Alfa Romeo 2uottottanta, and the Ferrari P540 Superfast Aperta, as well as numerous road-going cars for manufacturers such as Ferrari and Peugeot.