For Gustavo Felicori, platform manager at FCA for Latin America, Uconnect represents the beginning of a connected FCA.
For Fernando, the greatest challenge was, and still is, the complexity of the platform, which has other versions in the process of development. “It’s a multimedia center with six different display sizes, with HMI (Human-Machine Interface) variation, with application and global development in seven FCA brands, with dozens of models of vehicles in parallel production”, he says. Gustavo remembers daily meetings with FCA colleagues from different parts of the world, to monitor and solve problems. “There are many countries and cultures working together, and it worked very well. We are building a connectivity platform and we work connected”, he reflects.
For the FCA platform manager, the main legacy for the team is the know-how acquired in different specialties, becoming a reference in the company and integrated with major global partners, such as Apple, Google and the suppliers involved in the development: “The capacity to develop connectivity products remains. The professionals who participate in this project have the opportunity to develop knowledge and have acquired unprecedented experiences.
We have a team in several areas of the company now able to develop global connectivity solutions for our customers, managing simultaneous activities in several countries, with multiple partners and in a very efficient and productive way”. The launch of Uconnect 7” brought new processes and skills to the organization and definitively inserted FCA into the world of connectivity, both in our product portfolio and in the virtual work environment. “And this launch represents only the beginning of the connected FCA”, says Gustavo.
As part of the digital transformation project, on October 28th FCA Latam and TIM Brasil announced a partnership to offer embedded connectivity solutions in vehicles of the Fiat, Jeep and Ram brands from the first half of 2021. FCA's next vehicles in Brazil will have an eSIM - a virtual chip for access to native Wi-Fi - on board, with the quality of TIM's 4G coverage and the largest Internet of Things (IoT) network in the country. “The world is changing and you need data, whether it's for private or professional life. Look at what 4G technology allows us to do, with the connected car. And I think this is just the beginning of something that will completely change our lives”, said Pietro Labriola, CEO of TIM Brasil.
Drivers and passengers will be able to use the vehicle to carry out the same type of operations that they perform today on the smartphone. “Connectivity is not the shortest distance between points. It is the best distance”, said Antonio Filosa, president of FCA for Latin America.
Words: Luiza Lages
Pictures: Marketing