FCA Poland to build Jeep, Fiat, Alfa Romeo hybrids and electric cars

 

The FCA Group announces new investments in a strategic project implemented at the factory in Tychy. The investment will involve the expansion and modernization of the FCA Poland plant and will last several years. Its goal is to start mass production of the first of three new passenger car models for the group’s brands in the second half of 2022. The preparations have already started.

 

The announced Jeep, Fiat and Alfa Romeo cars are technologically advanced models based on a new concept of mobility. They will be manufactured using the most advanced drive systems, including all-electric drive.

 

As a result, they will set standards in their segments, enabling the further development of the Group’s brands and effective competition in the most demanding markets in the world.

 

The announcement of FCA’s investment in the Tychy factory was sealed with a symbolic handover of the decision on granting public aid to the FCA Group by the Katowice Special Economic Zone (KSEZ). Documents from the President of the KSEZ, Dr. Janusz Michałek was received by a member of the board of FCA Poland, financial director Sławomir Bekier. The granted support concerns the creation of favorable conditions for the implementation of the planned investment by providing FCA with the possibility of taking advantage of tax reliefs in the field of corporate income tax (CIT).

 

Statements by representatives of the FCA Group and the KSEZ

 

Pietro Gorlier, FCA’s Chief Operating Officer (COO) for EMEA:

“Today, Tychy is writing a new chapter in the extraordinary 100-year history of the Group’s presence in Poland, which began with the opening of the first Fiat branch in 1920. I am particularly proud of our Polish plants which, thanks to the daily commitment and effort of employees, represent the centers of excellence for FCA around the world. The investments announced today fulfill the promise of strengthening operations in Poland made by FCA two years ago during the presentation of our business plan ”.

 

Dr Henryka Bochniarz, member of the Supervisory Board of FCA Poland:

“Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) is not only one of the largest producers of passenger cars in Poland, but also one of the country’s most important foreign investors in the industrial sector. The Group consists of thirteen Polish companies that employ 6.4 thousand people. people. I would also like to emphasize that last year as much as 74% of the production of Polish FCA companies, worth over PLN 12.4 billion, found their customers abroad. FCA is not only efficient and modern enterprises, but also a reliable organization for which the human factor is a key element of its success. Thanks to the professionalism of the team from Tychy, today we can celebrate one of the largest automotive investments in Poland and with this extremely strong accent we can seal the 100th anniversary of the FIAT Group’s presence in Poland ”.

 

Alfredo Leggero, president of the management board of FCA Poland:

“Poland has always been of strategic importance to FCA. FCA Poland produces and will produce cars with a high proportion of locally manufactured components, which can be safely referred to as “Made in Poland”. The team of FCA Poland over the years has demonstrated determination and professionalism in striving to achieve the highest world standards in the field of car manufacturing. Each employee of our factory in Tychy deserves this investment and everyone can be proud that they contributed to the decision that will ensure further development of the Tychy factory ”.

 

Tomasz Gębka, director of Zakład Tychy, member of the board of FCA Poland:

“Thank you for the support of our management – both in Turin and in Detroit. Someone who knows the plant in Tychy and the local team might say that the decision to locate such a strategically important project here should be automatic. On the other hand, the FCA Group has many factories in Europe, both Americas and Asia with which I have cooperated in the past and in which we have implemented the World Class Manufacturing system. Like the plant in Tychy, they guarantee the highest quality and efficiency, while focusing on ecology. All the more thank you for this trust given to us.

 

Dr. Janusz Michałek, president of the Katowice Special Economic Zone SA (KSEZ):

“Our flagship investor with another decision of the KSEZ to support. This time, FCA Poland will produce in Poland, and here in Tychy, brand new car models that have not been produced by the Group so far . Thanks to the implementation of the FCA Group’s investment planned for several years, modern FCA cars with electric and hybrid drive will be created in the KSEZ in Silesia. As part of the decision to support the KSEZ, our investor has declared over PLN 755 million of outlays for the factory in Tychy ”.

 

The announced decision on the investment of the FCA Group also has an important symbolic dimension – it seals the 100th anniversary of the presence of the Group and the FIAT brand on the Vistula River this year. It was 100 years ago that the joint-stock company Polski Fiat was established in Warsaw, and 11 years later, the production of the first Fiats under an Italian license began at Państwowe Zakłady Inżynierii in Warsaw. The post-war history of the brand was revived in 1965 in Warsaw’s FSO with the production of a new car under license, and eight years later at FSM in Bielsko-Biała, where the first Fiat 126p rolled off the assembly line. In 1975, production started at the plant in Tychy. In 1992, Fiat Auto acquired FSM, establishing Fiat Auto Poland, currently Fiat Chrysler Automobiles – Poland.

 

FCA Poland – Tychy Plant:

The FCA Poland plant (Tychy) is one of the largest FCA production plants. It covers an area of ​​2.4 million m², of which 0.5 million m² is allocated to production halls and service buildings. Currently, the plant employs approx. 2.5 thousand people, and on its premises there are 42 companies providing services to the factory. A new car comes off its assembly lines approximately every minute. In 2019, the FCA plant in Tychy produced a total of 263,176 Fiat, Abarth and Lancia cars, including: 179,689 Fiat 500, 21,015 Abarth 595 and 62,472 Lancia Ypsilon. The FCA factory in Tychy operates in accordance with World Class Manufacturing, an integrated enterprise management methodology according to the highest world standards. Zakład Tychy FCA Poland was one of the first in the Group to reach the “Gold” level of WCM.

FCA Poland is one of the largest employers in the region – at the end of last year, it employed nearly 2,500 people. He is constantly looking for innovative solutions and improvements to work organization. One of the elements influencing the development is Plant Academy – a project that aims to develop technical and leadership skills of employees.

Export is an extremely important and profitable branch for the economy, and the automotive industry is of key importance in Polish exports. 99% of the cars produced in 2019 of the Fiat, Abarth and Lancia brands (i.e. 260,842 units) were exported to 58 markets around the world.

 

Katowice Special Economic Zone SA (KSEZ)

KSEZ is awarded with the title of the best zone in Poland, Europe and 2nd in the world according to the Financial Times and “Highly Recommended” in the category of the Best SEZ for Small and Medium Enterprises in Europe. The KSEZ brings together over 400 modern small and large business companies which, investing nearly PLN 40 billion, have created over 80,000 new jobs. KSEZ focuses on modern, automated investments, safe for the environment and improving the quality of life of the region’s inhabitants. The KSEZ flagship cluster, Silesia Automotive and Advanced Manufacturing, which currently includes over a hundred automotive companies, last month obtained the next level of the European cluster management quality certificate – SILVER LABEL Cluster Management Excellence issued by the European Secretariat for Cluster Analysis.