Reports suggest that BMW is mulling De Tomaso purchase

The erstwhile maker of high-performance sports cars De Tomaso has been looking for a new buyer ever since the company went bankrupt for the second time in its history. Now, unspecified sources are divulging the information that BMW might have shown considerable interest in buying the De Tomaso brand and its sites. Officials in the UILM trade union have confirmed BMW’s expression of interest though they have also stated that the firm is also in talk with other Italian brands.

BMW may purchase De Tomaso soon

De Tomaso first hit rough waters way back in 2004 when it went into liquidation. In November 2009, Gian Mario Rossignolo, the Former Fiat marketing executive, had given the brand something of a mini-revival after he rented Pininfarina’s Grugliasco, Turin-based facility and signed a deal with De Tomaso to manufacture its vehicles. The brand seemed like it was on the road to recovery when in 2011 its new partners presented the Deauville, a five-door crossover vehicle that came laced with De Tomaso badging. Later in the same year, the company has announced that it would also revive its famed Pantera model and would also be presenting a limo some time in 2013.

However, De Tomaso found trouble again after fraud allegation landed Mario Rossignolo in jail and all the plans for producing these vehicles had to be shelved. Around that time governments of the Piedmont locale, began contacting car makers in the country and the continent to see if any of them were interested in buying the De Tomaso brand. BMW was one of the contacted vehicle manufacturers though it has declined the offer then. De Tomaso went on to seek options in China though the lack of interested buyers forced the company to finally go into liquidation in July 2012.

For now, one can only speculate about the extent to which BMW will help in De Tomaso’s revival but if it does, it could bring hope to a lot of other struggling, smaller car manufacturers around the world who have been forced to go out of business due to the slump in the global auto market.

Via: GT Spirit.