Fca. 5 billion investment, but they can’t say no to diesel

Fca announced an over 5 billion investment

FCA has announced an investment of over five billion euros for the period 2019-2021, thirteen new models and a restyling of the Italian plants, with the electric Fiat 500 that will be produced at Mirafiori, and with the goal of full employment to reach at the end of the plan. These are the main points presented by FCA to the labor unions by the managing director Mike Manley and by the head of European activities Pietro Gorlier.

The Alfa Romeo compact suv will be produced at the Fca plant in Pomigliano. The model will be added to the Fiat Panda which will continue to be produced in the Campania region factory. In Melfi, where the 500X and the Jeep Renegade are currently being built, the Jeep Renegade plug-in hybrid and the Jeep Compass will also be produced. A new medium suv under the Maserati brand will be produced in Cassino within the next 3 years.

FIAT CENTENARY LIMITED EDITION BY NEW HOLLAND

The words of the manager for European activities, Pietro Gorlier

Concerning the electric Fiat 500 at Mirafiori, Pietro Gorlier said: «It will see the light in the first quarter of 2020. It is going to be an exciting event, a miracle for the ‘500’ as a brand that, after many years, continues to remain at the top of the industry. The investments for the Jeep Compass in Melfi, for the electric 500 at Mirafiori, for the Alfa Romeo compact suv in Pomigliano and for the increase in the production capacity of Sevel are already underway». A new production line will be built at the Termoli plant to create the new Fire Fly 1,000, 1,300, turbo, aspirated and hybrid engines.

The investments planned by Fca «for Italy, in the context of the industrial plan, which focuses on the use of common, flexible and electrified platforms, will serve to reinforce the orientation of our industrial footprint in Italy towards our global brands and international markets. We will satrt in the next few months with a staff training project, focused on hybrid and electric technologies. I know that together with all our workers we will be able to achieve the goals we have set», added Gorlier.

Diesel is still here for the moment, but it’s not that big of a surprise

In the meanwhile, the goodbye to diesel has been postponed. For the moment, at Pratola Serra, an evolution of the current models will be developed.

Back in November 2017, Diesel already analyzed the situation concerning the electric Fiat 500, with an article that recalled the thoughts of Sergio Marchionne (former Fca Ceo, deceased in 2018) at the time. What emerged already clear at the time was indeed the fact the context of electric cars was not clear at all.

In particular, at the time, Marchionne said: «The electric car? Fca is working on it but it is not the solution for the future. We are working on all its forms, but we can not ignore some important elements. For example, talking about the electric Fiat 500: we launched it five years ago in California, but for every car sold we lose 20 thousand dollars.  The question is how energy is produced: before considering electric cars as the right solution, we need to consider their entire life cycle because the emissions of an electric car, if the energy to power it is produced from fossil sources, are equivalent to those of a traditional car. They are in fact a double-edged sword».

These words date back to a 2017 that seems distant, but they are instead particularly current. The word ‘electric’ instinctively creates a connection to the word ‘environment’, but also based on the recent decision by Fca to keep the diesel, things are most likely not as easy as they may appear.

IN THE MEANWHILE, BOSCH IS WORKING TO MAKE THE DIESEL RENEWABLE