Fiat Chrysler Automobiles plans to upgrade its Tychy plant in southern Poland by investing 2.36 billion zlotys ($773 million) for the production of an all-new B-segment car, most likely a replacement model for the Punto. The car is tipped to be a longer and wider version of the 500 three-door city car that is built in Tychy and could be called 500 Plus.
According to Puls Biznesu, a Polish newspaper cited by Automotive News Europe, the planned investment should be made by the end of 2017 and will include upgrading production lines and new technology purchases.
The report, which cited the Polish government as its source, also said that the Italian carmaker plans to hire 420 new employees on top of the current 3,000 in Poland. Furthermore, 96 percent of the production is expected to be exported, including to North America.
Fiat did not confirm the Polish government’s statement, saying that the details of the investment are “assumptions that at this moment have not yet been firmed up in the company’s business strategies.” Fiat added that information on investment plans will be announced at the appropriate time “along with the industrial choices that the company decides to take.” That can probably be best translated as a reproach to the Polish government for disclosing the details too early.
By Dan Mihalascu
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