FCA reaches major milestones in its investment program for the Turin manufacturing hub and continues its drive towards an increasingly sustainable mobility.

February 27, 2020 - Inside the historic gates of the Mirafiori plant in Turin, the new Fiat 500 electric is taking its first steps. The assembly lines are ready, and the first pre-series cars are already being tested in preparation for the production launch scheduled for June 2020. At full capacity, the line will be capable of producing 80,000 units a year employing around 1,200 people. This represents a major new step for the future of Turin and Mirafiori, which just last year celebrated its 80th anniversary.

The Turin manufacturing hub, which includes the Mirafiori complex and the nearby Grugliasco plant, is FCA’s largest manufacturing hub globally and one of the largest in the automotive sector in Europe. Some 20,000 people work at the hub, but this number reaches approximately 70,000 if we include employees of the 4,000 satellite businesses and suppliers in the area. The full-electric Fiat 500 represents the beginning of a major new chapter for the Turin manufacturing hub. However, it is just one part of the comprehensive investment plan that FCA has launched for the Turin hub, which forms part of the Group’s 2019-2021 industrial plan for Italy. Work is proceeding apace and is radically altering the face of this manufacturing hub, transforming it into a major center of excellence in electrification at the global level. Equipped with the most advanced technologies and processes, the new site will be even more efficient and sustainable.

Working Towards Carbon Neutrality

Sustainable mobility is something everyone talks about, but the transition to hybrid and electric vehicles goes far beyond the design, production and sale of new models. It also requires a structural transformation. It requires development of a public and domestic network of charging stations for these electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles. But that’s not all. We also need to rethink how energy is generated – focusing on sources that don’t use fossil fuels – and how it is distributed. This is why FCA’s commitment is not limited to simply designing and producing new models, but also to creating the conditions to ensure the new concept of mobility becomes a reality and delivers advantages to customers from the very beginning.

In recent months, FCA has formed a series of partnerships with leaders in various sectors to support customers of our electrified vehicles. These include Enel X and ENGIE Eps for installation, management and maintenance of domestic charging stations (or “wallboxes”) and applications that enable easy access to the energy grid. Another major partner is Terna – the Italian electricity grid operator – with which FCA is working to build, at the Mirafiori complex, the world’s largest vehicle-to-grid (V2G) lab for testing the capacity of electric vehicles to interact with the distribution network and store or return energy based on demand. The goal of this experimental V2G project is to connect a fleet of electric vehicles via a two-way charging infrastructure to contribute to balancing energy demand during peaks periods. Over the course of the project, the fleet will increase from an initial 64 vehicles to 700 vehicles capable of providing up to 25 megawatts of power.

“These partnerships build on the e-Mobility strategy we announced last year as part of our five-year business plan,” said Mike Manley, CEO of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles. “We are assembling an ecosystem of partners, products and services across multiple markets to meet and exceed the rapidly evolving expectations of our customers for electrified vehicles.”

As the investment plan for Mirafiori unfolds, many other initiatives will be implemented, including the creation of a series of solar power production units that will generate renewable energy on-site, providing a major benefit on the sustainability front. In partnership with Edison, 120,000 square meters of photovoltaic panels will be installed on building roofs. A further 30,000 square meters of photovoltaic panels covering 1,750 employee parking spaces will also be installed in partnership with ENGIE Eps. These solar power production units will generate a combined 15 megawatts of electricity contributing to a more than 5,000-ton reduction in carbon emissions while supplying renewable energy to charge the electric vehicles produced at the site.

In addition, 850 charging stations will be installed throughout the Turin manufacturing hub, 750 of which will be in employee parking areas.

The First Electrification Milestones

Product investment is also moving forward at a rapid pace, with several major milestones already reached. At Mirafiori, the assembly lines for the full-electric Fiat 500 have been completed and production is scheduled to begin in June 2020. At Grugliasco, production of the hybrid Maserati Ghibli has already begun, and restyling of the Maserati Quattroporte and Levante is under way. For both models, the production launch is set for July 2020. Investment has also begun at Mirafiori for production of the new Maserati GranTurismo and GranCabrio, the first Maserati models to adopt 100% electric solutions.

In addition, FCA has also begun investment at the Mirafiori transmission plant to increase production capacity to 350,000 six-speed transmissions per year.

Finally, 2020 will also see the creation of an all-new “Battery Hub” at Mirafiori, which will produce the battery modules installed in all Maserati electric vehicles. Capacity at the hub will be gradually expanded to provide increased autonomy in the supply of these components, which are of increasing strategic importance.

Focus on People

Investments at the Turin manufacturing hub total roughly €2 billion to date and a return to full employment is targeted by 2022. In the meantime, in order to meet the needs arising for the launch of new products, FCA has begun the hiring process for approximately 100 skilled specialists.

Pietro Gorlier, COO for FCA’s EMEA Region said: “The new sustainability-focused initiatives announced today, together with the operational milestones already achieved, demonstrate how FCA is continuing to strengthen its activities, with the contribution of its people and its centers of excellence. With a series of new product launches and these innovative electrification-related projects, 2020 will be an incredibly important year for the Group’s future.”

The investments at the Turin manufacturing hub form part of FCA’s €5 billion investment plan for Italy over the 2019-2021 period to support the launch of 13 new or significantly refreshed models and the introduction of 12 electric versions of new or existing models. To date, more than 90% of these investments have already begun.

An Industrial Icon

The Mirafiori plant, which began construction in 1936, represented the state of the art in industrial architecture for the era, with vast open spaces housing the machinery and equipment that would make some of the most successful production models in history. Nearly 29 million vehicles have been produced at the plant so far. Bombed repeatedly during World War II and undergoing multiple expansions during the post-war economic boom, the complex is an icon of Turin’s industrial legacy. More than 35 models have been developed and built here, beginning with the legendary Fiat Topolino and also including the iconic Fiat 500, Fiat Panda and Fiat Uno, which remains the best-selling model in Fiat history with over ten million units produced. More recently, models of other Group brands were also produced here, including the Lancia Thema, Lybra and Musa, the Alfa Romeo MiTo, and now several Maserati models.
Today, this grand old factory has many faces and is also home to many non-manufacturing activities, such as FCA Bank, the FCA Design Center, the head offices of Abarth, and the Heritage Hub.