• SHANGHAI: Fiat said on Monday it has finalised an engine purchase deal with China’s Chery Automobile, enabling the Chinese auto maker to supply more than 100,000 engines per year to the Italian company. Under the agreement, Chery will supply 1.6 and 1.8 litre engines for Fiat cars made China and overseas, it said in a statement. “This is also a good basis for studying further cooperation with Chery in the automotive industry,” Sergio Marchionne, CEO of Fiat Group, said in a statement. Industry sources told Reuters late last year that Fiat and Chery had been exploring opportunities for a production alliance after signing a framework engine agreement in October. One option was for Chery to make cars using Fiat technology, and Alfa Romeo was one of the Fiat models that could be made in China, the sources said. While General Motors and other auto companies are making hefty profits in the fast-growing China market, Fiat has been struggling with its money-losing car venture with Nanjing Automobile.