In a symbolic bridge between past and future, through the installation of a sophisticated Comau robot in one of the largest and most historic plants of the international automotive industry, the eighty years of the Mirafiori plant were celebrated today in Turin. start of construction of the line for the new 500 BEV. This is a new generation of cars that will continue the long tradition of innovative models coming from the Turin plant (altogether more than 35) such as the 500 itself, which came out of Mirafiori for the first time in the 1957.
FCA, first robot installation for new 500BEV line
In the presence of local and regional authorities and institutions, including the Mayor of Turin Chiara Appendino, the President of the Piedmont Region Alberto Cirio and the Prefect of Turin Claudio Palomba, the COO of the EMEA region of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, Pietro Gorlier, recalled that "Mirafiori has evolved hand-in-hand with the city of Turin, shared its successes as difficult moments but has always found a way to re-emerge and remains one of the longest established European car factories". In its eighty years of life, Mirafiori has produced over 28 million 700 thousand cars.
Today in the Turin area (Mirafiori and Grugliasco) approximately 20.000 people work between production employees and related engineering and design, sales, financial services and spare parts activities. It is the largest FCA complex in the world. If the perimeter is extended also to the other activities of FCA in Piedmont, other 4.000 people and about 40.000 employees working in the supplier companies should be considered.
Today's celebrations have written a new chapter in the history of Mirafiori. The platform under construction is specific for electric cars and will see the first application with the 500 BEV. Today the first robot has been placed and within the next few months the rest of the plants will be set up (only in the paving will 200 robots be hosted which will allow the welding process to be totally automatic): the production of the first pre-series is expected within the end of year. About 1.200 people will be dedicated to building the electric 500, while the production capacity of the line will be 80.000 units per year with the possibility of being increased.
Overall, between design, development and engineering costs and construction of the line, this is an investment of around seven hundred million euros. The production start-up will take place in the second quarter of the 2020.
"The 500 BEV was conceived, designed and engineered all here - stressed Gorlier - a true product of the 'made in Fiat' and of the 'made in Turin'. Another excellent example of the ability to create and innovate of which our company and this city are rich. In Turin we are developing a new center of excellence on electricity that has already reached 260 people. The new electric 500 is the first piece of the investments we are planning for the Turin production center - Gorlier added, emphasizing that - this project will be followed by the renewal of Maserati models, starting with the Levant, and other products as envisaged by our industrial plan ".
The EMEA Region of FCA has created a new specific "e-Mobility" body that has the task of coordinating all the activities related to electrification. This is the direction taken by the recent agreements signed with Enel X and Engie, thanks to which FCA will offer solutions to simplify the life of those who purchase and use a car of the various brands of the Group.
For Italy, the Company is planning to install more than 900 recharging points at its production sites and in employee car parks, about 1.200 at the Leasys Mobility Stores and beyond 1.100 at its dealers, for a total investment of approximately 33 million. FCA is also evaluating innovative projects in the context of the so-called "Vehicle-to-grid", a system whereby electric vehicles will communicate with the network to "return" electricity in case of need and then return to charging when the request is minor. An advantage for the customer and a saving in energy production.
The electric 500 is part of a much broader investment plan that FCA will carry out in Italy during the 2019-2021 period. Overall, this amounts to five billion euros, to support a substantial renewal in the product range, with the introduction of 13 models that are totally new or deeply renewed and the launch of an electrification plan for the offer, with the inclusion in the 12 range of electric versions of new or existing models.
"Despite the rather difficult macro-economic context and a consequently weak market, we wanted to confirm the investments - commented Gorlier - and today's ceremony is a concrete sign of the fact that our projects are proceeding at a fast pace".
On the occasion of the event it was then recalled that, a few months ago at the Geneva Motor Show, the new plug-in hybrid models of the Jeep Renegade and Compass were presented, which recently in Turin the electric Ducato (the the first electric vehicle produced by FCA in Europe) and that the former factory in Rivalta, another historical reality in Piedmont, is becoming one of the global distribution centers of the Mopar Brand serving Europe, the Middle East, Africa and other markets world. Furthermore, at the Verrone plant, where gearboxes for a wide range of models are born, an increase in production of the gearboxes destined for the Ducato is planned and, for the same commercial vehicle, a specific engine will be built whose production will start in Pratola Serra starting at the end of next year. In Cento, on the other hand, just over a month ago the production of the new generation of V6 engines began, all destined for export to be mounted on RAM sold in North America.
"All the cars left by Mirafiori - concluded Gorlier - have been futuristic for their time, because they have always had some aspect of novelty and uniqueness: for the style, for the dimensions, for the propulsion system, for the materials used, for the concept around which they were developed. Today our way of conceiving innovation does not change: the New 500 BEV will have cutting-edge solutions in an industrial and marketing context that is very different from even just a few years ago. And it will once again become a milestone in the history of FCA and the automobile ".