Only the FIOM union refused to sign up to Fiat's proposals which will see the Mirafiori factory become part of a new company that will be exempted from Italy's blanket labour laws and with union activity banned for those that don't sign up. The proposal is expected to be put to a workers' referendum next month.

Yesterday's agreement comes at the end of a frantic month of bargaining with both sides issuing a string of threats and many media briefings. It all started on November 26 when, in a meeting held at Unione Industriale di Torino, Fiat Group CEO, Sergio Marchionne, presented the trade unions with a proposal to boost output at Mirafiori by building new D-segment and SUV-style vehicles based on the new, larger derivatives of the "C-Evo" platform which already underpins the new Alfa Romeo Giulietta.

The "C-Evo" platform, which debuted this year, is set to become one of the most important architectures in the Fiat and Chrysler engineering portfolio and it has already been widened by 1.6 inches for use in particular by Chrysler Group products. That revised platform, dubbed "C-Evo Wide" has in fact since been further stretched to become D-Evo. Widening C-Evo will also allow the new "Pentastar" V6 to be fitted in the architecture's engine bay which currently doesn't allow for this option. All three platform spin-offs will be able to be built down one line at Mirafiori. That November announcement noted that: "This platform represents the most advanced architecture available today, originally designed as the base for the Giulietta and further developed at Chrysler. This universal platform is to be shared by the two Groups and will be used for development of all future C & D segment passenger cars and SUVs."

The plans proposed by Fiat only mentioned Jeep and Alfa Romeo as being brands set to to produce larger models at Mirafiori, the new Jeep Cherokee/Liberty and Alfa Romeo Giulia (replacing the 159), if an external sale of the sports brand doesn't go ahead, will both be underpinned by the forthcoming D-Evo platform. However a whole cluster of Fiat and Chrysler models are set to be rolled out across C- and D-segments from this architecture over the next few years: Chrysler and Dodge are both earmarked to add a new compact sedan to their ranges mounted on the C-Evo Wide underpinnings while Jeep's single-model replacement for the Patriot and Compass will also be mounted on the C-Evo Wide architecture. Stepping up a class the next-generation 200 [Sebring] and Avenger will both be mounted on D-Evo.

The statement said the Mirafiori project - which would be one of the first concrete signs that Fiat Group is serious about its much-hyped "Fabbrica Italiana" project - will result in production capacity of up to 1,000 vehicles per day adding up to a target of 250,000-280,000 units per year. However within days the unions had rejected the proposals as stripping away too many rights from the workforce and a month of tough negotiations got underway before yesterday's agreement was hammered out with all the unions apart from FIOM.