Italy's Fiat Spa will make Alfa Romeo brand vehicles in its Chinese joint venture with Guangzhou Automobile Group Co Ltd, China's No 6 domestic automaker, president of its Chinese partner said.

Zeng Qinghong said the joint venture, Guangqi Fiat, will start production in July.

"Besides the Fiat brand, after talks between the two shareholders, we will introduce the Alfa Romeo brand to the venture company," he told reporters on the sidelines of the Guangzhou Auto Show.

But he would not say when the cars will hit the market.

"We are still discussing the timetable," he said.

Guangqi Fiat, which will have an initial capacity of 140,000 units, will be developed into a multi brand and multi products manufacturer, he added.

Chrysler Group LLC, which is managed by Fiat, said earlier this year that it was "aggressively" exploring the possibility of building more vehicles in China and could build cars and trucks there through the Guangzhou Auto and Fiat joint venture.

Despite slowing growth, Alfa Romeo is seen to be the latest high-end automobile brand from Italy braving the already crowded luxury auto segment in the world's largest auto market in China.

Audi is expanding its China portfolios to include the locally-made Q5 SUV in addition to its overseas-made models. Mercedes-Benz has introduced A-class and B-class cars to China and may start making GLK SUVs in its facility in Beijing next year. BMW has also been bringing in smaller, sportier models to beef up its portfolio.