A 5.8-magnitude earthquake struck the Italian provinces of Modena, Parma and Bologna yesterday at around 9am local time. The quake left between 15 and 17 people dead and around 200 injured. The epicenter was located at around 18.6 miles (30km) from Modena at a depth of 6 miles (9.6km). Fiat Chairman John Elkann confirmed that the group had to shut down the Ferrari and Maserati factories, and to suspend Ducati activities in the region. So far the immediate reason for this decision has not been announced, nor other details regarding this matter. Fiat does not mention when Ferrari, Maserati and Ducati will restart their operations. This unfortunate situation could result in delayed deliveries, especially in the case of Ferrari and Maserati.
The Modena earthquake is the second major event of this kind in the last month to strike Italy. The first one took place on May 20, and had similar devastating effects. We'll have more details on the matter as soon as they're available.
[Source: Bloomberg]
