The announcement was made at the Betim plant during a ceremony attended by Fernando Pimentel, Governor of the State of Minas Gerais and Antonio Filosa, President of FCA Latin America, with investments of R$8 billion set to be made that cover the Fiat factory and its supply chain.

According to the company: “The resources will allow an expansion of Fiat's product range and strengthen the brand in the Brazilian and Latin American markets, reinforcing its presence in segments where it already leads and in others that it does not yet operate.”

“There will be 15 releases until 2023, including new cars, model renovations and special series,” the FCA statement confirmed. The new investments announced for the Betim factory are part of the global strategic plan that was announced by former FCA CEO Sergio Marchionne on 1 June.

The Fiat Automotive factory at Betim is FCA’s largest in the world. It has installed capacity to produce up to 800,000 vehicles per year. The plant has been receiving investments to modernise it and counts in its scope the factory that produces the new FireFly engine.

Since the production lines first sprung into life in 1976, Fiat has produced around 16 million vehicles at Betim. Of this total, approximately 3.5 million units have been exported.

Throughout its 42 years, Fiat has contributed to transform the economy and the profile of Betim and Minas Gerais, attracting numerous suppliers that have strengthened the industrial fabric of Minas Gerais.

Fiat was the first company in the Brazilian car industry to settle outside the São Paulo belt. For this reason, it started operations with more than 80% of its suppliers located in São Paulo, which entailed big logistics costs. During the 1990s, a strategy of attracting suppliers was implemented through a process called "mining". Once strategic partners were installed locally the plant started to operate to the "Just In Time" (JIT) supply system, with significant gains for its competitiveness.

The process of "mineralization" allowed Fiat to create the conditions for the production scale jump that would occur during the following years. The reliability of the new supply chain released physical areas inside the factory that had previously been used for storage, which allowed the expansion of the production lines. Currently, more than 60% of components purchased come from suppliers located within a radius of up to 150 kilometers from the factory.

The economy of Minas Gerais has been a winner thanks to this process as new companies set up in the diversified industrial park. The process of "mineralisation" is still on-going and the supply chain continues to grow.

Since April this year, FCA has had a new President for Latin America, engineer Antonio Filosa who is 45-years-old and was born in Naples. Filosa graduated from the renowned Polytechnic Institute in Milan and completed his training in management at Fundação Dom Cabral in Minas Gerais.

He joined the Fiat Group, now FCA, in 1999, and since then has accumulated extensive international experience in the areas of Manufacturing, Purchasing, Supply Chain, New Products, Marketing and Project Management.

He has held positions in Spain, the United States, Italy, Argentina and Brazil. He arrived in the country in 2005 and the following year started working at the Fiat factory where he held the positions of Internal Logistics Manager, Strategic Planning and Purchasing, as well as Deputy Manufacturing Director. He was also Director of Purchases for Latin America and Director General of FCA Argentina.

Upon assuming the current position, Filosa also joined the Group Executive Council (GEC), the group's highest executive body where he is the youngest member.

At Betim there are currently three assembly lines responsible for the production of eight models, namely the Uno, Fiorino, Doblò, Grand Siena, Weekend, Strada, Mobi and Argo. The Fiat Cronos, produced in Córdoba in Argentina, the Fiat Toro, manufactured at the new Jeep plant in Goiana, and the Fiat Ducato, imported from Mexico, complement the Betim-build range.