WARSAW — Fiat Chrysler Automobiles plans to invest 2 billion euros ($2.45 billion) in its plant in Tychy, Poland, Deputy Prime Minister Jaroslaw Gowin said on Tuesday, in a move that will see new electric and hybrid vehicles produced at the factory.
FCA said new hybrid and electric Jeep, Fiat and Alfa Romeo models would be built in Tychy. The company wants to start production of the first of three new models for the group’s brands in the second half of 2022.
The investment comes as a boost to emerging Europe’s largest economy, which is hoping a switch to EVs can help its auto sector catch up with regional rivals such as the Czech Republic and Slovakia.
“Modern, hybrid and electric cars of the Jeep, Fiat and Alfa Romeo brands will start to leave the factory in Tychy in 2022,” Gowin wrote on Twitter.
FCA, which is planning a $38 billion merger with French rival PSA to create Stellantis, the world’s No.4 carmaker, said in a statement the early preparations for the expansion and modernization of the plant started in late 2020.
The plant in Poland’s industrial southern region of Silesia is one of the company’s largest and currently employs around 2,500 people.
In its 2018-2022 plan, FCA pledged to invest 9 billion euros in electrification as part of investment plans totaling 45 billion euros.
