Fiat Chrysler will build Jeep, Alfa Romeo EVs in Poland

Editor’s note: Reuters has corrected the plant financial investment figures that were being published in an previously model of this tale.

WARSAW —  Fiat Chrysler Cars will modernize its Polish plant to develop hybrid and electrical Jeeps, Fiats and Alfa Romeos.

The organization plans to start production of the first of three new versions at its manufacturing unit in Tychy in the next half of 2022, the automaker mentioned in a assertion on its Polish internet site on Dec. 29.

The versions will consist of full-electrical autos, FCA mentioned.

The investments are the “fulfillment of the assure to bolster FCA’s functions in Poland built two many years in the past during the presentation of our organization prepare,” the automaker’s Europe boss, Pietro Gorlier, mentioned in the assertion.

The Tychy plant at this time builds the Fiat five hundred and Lancia Ypsilon smaller autos.

FCA will make investments 755 million zloty ($204 million) in the challenge “with prospective customers for many periods much more,” Polish Deputy Prime Minister Jaroslaw Gowin mentioned on Twitter.

Neither FCA nor Gowin named the new versions to be constructed in Tychy.

The manufacturing unit at this time builds the Fiat five hundred and Lancia Ypsilon minicars.

Janusz Michalek, president of Katowice Particular Financial Zone, mentioned in the assertion that the autos will be entirely new versions not manufactured by FCA so significantly.

Polish push reports mentioned the Alfa Romeo Tonale compact crossover, demonstrated as a notion at the 2019 Geneva automobile display, could be one of the new versions to be manufactured in Tychy.

FCA plans to enhance yearly production at the plant to as many as 400,000 smaller autos primarily based on PSA Group’s Prevalent Modular System, according to Italian push reports previously this 12 months. The plant constructed 263,176 models in 2019.

In its 2018-2022 prepare, FCA mentioned it will spend nine billion euros on electrification as part of financial investment plans totaling forty five billion euros.

FCA is planning a $38 billion merger with PSA to create Stellantis, the world’s No.4 carmaker.

The Tychy plant in Poland’s industrial southern region of Silesia is one of FCA’s greatest and at this time employs close to two,five hundred persons.

The financial investment comes as a strengthen to Poland, which is hoping a switch to EVs can help its automobile sector catch up with regional rivals these kinds of as the Czech Republic and Slovakia.

Bloomberg and Reuters contributed to this report