NF500 / 500 Production

Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne has reaffirmed the company’s desire to launch the Fiat 500 brand in the United States. However, and in contradiction to quotes from the Fiat CEO published by Forbes only a matter of weeks ago, Marchionne stated his desire to introduce a second Fiat 500 production site in the USA.

The full quote, taken on the sidelines of a foreign policy forum in Venice, reads

We are examining ways and means to manufacture the cars in the United States, I don’t want to bring it over made. I want to manufacture [in the North American free-trade area]

You have to feel a little pity for any American eagerly awaiting the Fiat 500, the situation gets more confusing with every turn.

Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne has been quoted by Forbes as confirming orders for the new Fiat 500 have exceeded 204,000 vehicles. He also is quoted as saying there are no plans to further increase production beyond the current 190,000 vehicles per year output, or to introduce a second production site.

As an aside, Mr Marchionne also reaffirmed that the convertible Fiat 500 is heading for production in 2009.

Well, we thought it was anyway. This is basically a press release, in full, from Borealis AG that details the specification and challenges they faces when sourcing and creating the plastic parts, interior and exterior, for the new Fiat 500.

High-performance materials from Borealis, a leading provider of innovative value creating plastics solutions, have helped FIAT to create a visually, highly-differentiated small car for drivers – the FIAT 500. The 2008 Car of the Year uses polypropylene-based Daplen™ thermoplastic olefins (TPO) from Borealis on its bumpers and dashboard to achieve the superior aesthetics and excellent performance of its parts that give the FIAT 500 the edge in the small car market.

Italy’s leading car manufacturer FIAT set visual appeal as one of the top priorities for its new 500 model for both interior and exterior components. To successfully realise FIAT’s eye-catching concept of a large bumper with outstanding scratch resistance, a Class A smooth surface finish and good paintability, Borealis worked closely with parts moulder Ersi (Poland) and FIAT to find the ideal material solution.

The challenge was met with Daplen EE103AI, a high melt flow rate (MFR) TPO with excellent scratch resistance and the ability to achieve uniform thickness over a large surface area. Its low thermal expansion over a broad temperature range ensures consistent high quality for large, moulded parts and precise fitting to other exterior panels, further enhancing the overall visual impression.

The dashboard specifications set by FIAT were particularly challenging. To keep a high level of aesthetic surface appeal and avoid visual defects, FIAT specified a mono-material solution for the 500’s major interior parts. Poland-based parts moulder Plastal chose Daplen EE168AI to meet requirements for excellent scratch resistance and low gloss, while also guaranteeing a consistent finish and high quality parts integration through the material’s high dimensional stability and low thermal expansion. In addition, the excellent impact/stiffness ratio offered by Daplen EE168AI enhances vehicle safety.

Both bumper and dashboard benefit from the lightweight of polypropylene without compromising on performance of parts. Lighter weight components can contribute towards lower overall vehicle weight, resulting in reduced fuel consumption and less CO2 emissions. The FIAT 500 falls within the EU CO2 emission standard of 120g/km set to take effect from 2012.

Vehicle manufacturers are continuously seeking ways to sharpen the competitive edge of their brands

comments Franz Zängerl, Manager Business Development Automotive at Borealis.

The use of Daplen materials in both interior and exterior applications on the FIAT 500 has helped FIAT to realise its ambitions for a small vehicle with cutting-edge design features that will boost consumer perceptions of FIAT’s image and quality. The success of our materials in these components opens up exciting new opportunities for the use of polypropylene-based compounds in new automotive applications.

Following on from previous difficulties that have dented the production and reputation of the Fiat 500, manufactured at Fiat’s plant in Tychy Poland, yet another spanner has been thrown in the works, which, ironically, was part of a solution to previous strike threats from workers over pay and conditions.

Parent company Fiat has been instigating upgrades and improvements at the Tychy plant, one element of which was designed to instil a sense of pride in the workers’ association with the Italian car manufacturer. At the entrance to the plant, pictures of historical Italian figures and events have been placed, and the menu at the canteens has been upgraded and improved.

This, however, is apparently the source of the current unrest. When the “Itialianization” of the plant lead to traditional favourites such as beetroot soup and steam softened beef tongues were replaced with minestrone soup and spicy meatballs with spaghetti, the workforce saw this as a step too far and have downed tools until a resolution to this catering catastrophe can be negotiated.

Fiat’s spokesman in Poland, Mr Ingannare, has been quoted as saying

Italian cuisine is the finest in the World, and while we accept and value the tradition of our Polish workforce, we will not back down on this matter, even if it regrettably leads to some customers Fiat 500s being delayed by a few weeks. Eventually we are sure the Polish workforce will learn to love our great Italian dishes now on offer, in which we’ve invested a great deal of time and money as part of our ongoing improvement programme at the plant.

Forbes are today echoing reports from October last year regarding Fiat’s intentions to increase annual production of the new 500 model to 190,000 vehicles from the start of 2009.

We’re not sure if this is new news, because Sergio Marchionne was quoted as saying as much in October 2007, but if it is a reaffirmation on Fiat’s part, then that’s got to be a good sign of their confidence in the continued success of the Fiat 500, no doubt boosted by the hype and hysteria surrounding the 500 Abarth model and Aria concept due to show at Geneva next month.

Good news for those waiting for a diesel engine new Fiat 500 to arrive, production is about to restart. Although some cars appear to have made it to dealers which will need work to rectify this issue, the numbers affected seem miniscule, and delays are expected to be minimal, regardless of your Fiat 500 order status.

Full Fiat group press release follows:

The anomalies related to an externally-supplied component of the 1.3 Multijet engine have been resolved and on Saturday production of the engines resumed in the Bielsko Biala plant in Poland.

Production of cars that mount this engine will regularly resume within Tuesday February 26.

The suspension of production activities involved certain production lines of the Mirafiori, Melfi, Termini Imerese, Tychy and Bursa plants, where models equipped with 1.3 Multijet engines are produced. All these plants will resume normal activity within February 27.

The Company made every possible effort to speed up controls and adaptations that became necessary as well as to reduce delays in delivery to customers to the minimum.

Although Fiat is aware that this suspension of production, which has now been resolved, will have repercussions on its delivery volumes for the month of February, it nonetheless decided to adopt an uncompromising and rigorous approach so as to guarantee the highest levels of product quality to its customers.
Despite the cost that these measures will have, the Group confirms its targets for 2008.

Fiat has halted production of the 1.3 Multijet Diesel engine, as fitted to the Fiat 500, as a result of ‘anomalies’ in an externally supplied component. This means further delays for those waiting to get hold of their Diesel Fiat 500s.

Full press release from Fiat follows:

As a result of the constant quality controls carried out on all the components of Fiat Group Automobiles cars, a number of anomalies have emerged with
regard to an externally-supplied component for the 1.3 Multijet engine.

In order to verify that this supply of components meets the quality standardsrequested by Fiat, the Company has decided to suspend production of the
engines and cars on which they are mounted.

This decision has led to the suspension of production in the Bielsko Biala plant, where these engines are manufactured, as well as at certain production lines of the Mirafiori, Melfi, Termini Imerese, Tychy and Bursa plants, where models equipped with 1.3 Multijet engines are produced.

The Company is making every possible effort to speed up controls and adaptations that could become necessary, so as to reduce delays in delivery to
customers to the minimum.

Although Fiat is aware that this suspension of production will have repercussions on its delivery volumes for the month of February, it has
nonetheless decided to adopt an uncompromising and rigorous approach so as
to guarantee the highest levels of product quality to its customers.