Mirafiori Launches Production Of New eDCT Transmission

Move Kicks Off Transformation Of Mirafiori Property To An Automotive Park By 2030...

Robert S. Miller April 16, 2024

eDCT Production Launch at Mirafiori Automotive Park. (Stellantis).

Stellantis is celebrating the launch of its new electrified dual-clutch transmission (eDCT), at the historic Mirafiori Automotive Park in Italy.

The next step in a €240 million investment (approximately $267 million USD) in the site and for the Italian automotive industry to create the Mirafiori Automotive Park 2030. Stellantis CEO announced an additional €100 million investment (approximately $111 million USD) today to boost the potential of the iconic Fiat 500e. Mirafiori Automotive Park 2030 embodies Stellantis’ vision of transforming into a sustainable mobility tech company. The site, one of three primary global hubs for Stellantis, encompasses operations from design to recycling.

“Mirafiori is unique among Stellantis’ roots as it is becoming a fully-fledged center gathering central functions, technology development, manufacturing, and circular economy activities. This deep transformation, with eight new activities in Turin since we created Stellantis, requires a lot of attention, training, and investment to continue delivering vehicles, technology, and services that win the hearts and minds of our customers worldwide,” said Carlos Tavares, Stellantis CEO.

In parallel to the launch of eDCT production, the announcement of an additional €100 million investment serves the ambition further to enhance the attractiveness and affordability of the Fiat 500e to enlarge the customer base, thus enlarging the Mirafiori manufacturing activity. “As demonstrated today, we intend to defend our leadership position in Italy against all competition, including Chinese manufacturers, whatever support they may benefit from in the country. Every day our Italian employees demonstrate their skills, fighting spirit, and resilience. I want to thank them warmly and sincerely for their support of Stellantis. Stakeholders can expect that we’ll continue to protect and nurture our roots in new and sometimes surprising ways.”

Mirafiori Automotive Park 2030 represents the next chapter in the historic site’s rich, 80-year history. Today it is the production location for the Abarth 500e, Fiat 500e, Maserati GranTurismo, and Maserati GranCabrio, with more than 90% of the vehicles built there being exported, contributing to Italy’s trade balance.

In 2023, FIAT increased its global sales volume by 12%, registering a total of 1.35 million units sold worldwide and confirming it as the leading Stellantis brand in terms of sales volume. The brand is leading in four markets with a share of 21.8% in Brazil, 12.8% in Italy, 15.7% in Turkey, and 78.6% in Algeria. FIAT is the leader in the A-segment in Europe with a 42% market share, and the newly announced investment in the 500e aims to strengthen the model’s leadership by offering a more enhanced customer experience with a more affordable option featuring an all-new battery and electric engine.

Along with onsite vehicle production for FIAT and Maserati brands, the Mirafiori Automotive Park 2030 includes:

Transmission/Gearbox Production: In addition to the existing production of the C514 manual gearbox for the Fiat Panda built in Pomigliano, Italy, the eTransmissions Assembly joint venture today launched eDCT production for Stellantis-brand hybrid powertrains in less than two years. The site will produce up to 600,000 eDCTs per year, in parallel to the production at Metz, France. The eDCT produced in Mirafiori is a cutting-edge yet affordable hybridization technology, incorporating a 21-kW electric motor into a dual-clutch transmission.
Battery Technology Center: The state-of-the-art, €40 million center (approximately $44.4 million USD) enhances Stellantis’ capabilities to design, develop, and test battery packs, modules, high-voltage cells, and software that will power upcoming Stellantis brand vehicles. The center is among the largest in the European automotive industry.
SUSTAINera Circular Economy Hub: This pioneering initiative is aimed at sustainable manufacturing and consumption models. Activities include vehicle reconditioning, vehicle dismantling, and parts remanufacturing, with plans for global expansion. Stellantis aims to quadruple extended life revenues for parts and services and multiply recycling revenues by 10 times by 2030 compared to 2021.
Upcoming grEEn-campus: A carbon-neutral and collaborative workplace transformation program that aims to strengthen the roots of Stellantis’ automotive design, Tech, and central functions through innovative, sustainable, and collaborative designs.

In the past five years, Stellantis has invested over €5 billion (approximately $5.56 billion USD) in Italian operations for new products and manufacturing sites. The company also provides training with the aim of reskilling and upskilling its employees, while continuing its fruitful collaboration with the Polytechnic of Turin that began in 1999 and now leads to the creation of a campus of design and sustainable mobility within the Mirafiori area.

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bill burke Apr 16, 2024 #1

Make no mistake, these electrification augmented transmissions being infused into Stellantis products is no small thing. If Stellantis, and I believe they will, offers a FULL RANGE of power plants meaning ICE, ICE supported hybrids, Plug in hybrids and fully electric, these new transmissions will support the full range and significantly enhance performance, economy and environmental impact. It also creates the most important necessity going forward..CHOICE. Every brand must offer choices to customers or be doomed by this green hoax agenda.
This new breed of transmission makes these full range vehicles the industry standard for Stellantis and makes its Dare Forward 2030 not only daring but realistic. This Mirafiori Automotive Park truly is a cornerstone for that plan which must be foremost, a plan for choice.

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patfromigh Apr 16, 2024 #2

Which transmission, or should I say, whose transmission will it be? I hope this isn't that "built down to a price" French-Chinese 6-speed. Daimler sold one of the old Chrysler's crown jewels, New Process Gear, to Magna. Magna now has some advanced designs, including a 7-speed, 48V hybrid front drive transaxle used in the Euro Jeep Compass and Renegade models.

Since the early days of the lock-up torque converter, the historic Chrysler Corp brands went from first to worst for transmissions. Most notable is the Ultra-Drive debacle.which scared away a generation of buyers from Chrysler, Dodge and Plymouth. Since that episode, buyers were treated to a JATCO CVT in the Belvidere trio, the DDCT in the Dart, and the half baked ZF 9-speed automatic. Truck transmissions are a topic for another thread.

After some early teething problems, the eFlite hybrid transaxle has been quite successful. What I find strange is it has never been used in anything other than the Pacifica PHEV. The GKN e-axle hybrid system is only imported on the Tonale and Hornet.

Early adapters will buy an ugly hybrid, then they will move on to something else like a pure battery electric with bad build quality. Toyota learned this as Prius sales dried up and buyers walked across the showroom and bought Corolla and RAV4 hybrids instead. The people buying Toyota hybrids today are mainstream buyers, not early adapters. There are a heck of a lot more mainstream buyers than early adapters. The Prius has since morphed into something spectacular.

Another bad transmission could prove fatal for the legacy Chrysler brands, keep the French-Chinese junk in Europe. People won't buy an ugly hybrid, fix the Dodge Hornet. At one point management said that the Chrysler brand would be people movers with products like the Pacifica PHEV, then they changed their mind and said it would be an all electric brand. Around the same time Toyota said their Lexus brand would be all electric, now they seem to be selling a lineup of mostly hybrid people movers.Funny, isn't it, but only Toyota and Lexus seem to be laughing.

TripleT Apr 16, 2024 #3

Does it behave like DCT or is it more proper feeling. Americans literally think they are broken . I like the idea of them, but the 500L I drove in Italy was literally the worst behaving transmission I have ever driven, I that is with my pure distain for CVTs.

Bili Apr 16, 2024 #4

Hmh... Nothing doesn't operate like a DCT nowadays if it's electrified.

Both torque converter and DCT transmission have electric creeping function. They are electric up to 20 or 30 km/h.
I'm talking about 2.5 MHEVs. They operate more like a full hybrids, nothing like a MHEV you've used before.

@patfromigh
Magna got 7 speed through buyout of Getrag. This is an old design which was electrified.
Renault group will use lower cost version of Magna sourced electrified DCT.

Peugeot has a history of building it in house thus Magna wasn't a choice. But also alongside building it in house or under a JV it was even more important to build it cheap, on price.

patfromigh Apr 17, 2024 #5

Hmh... Nothing doesn't operate like a DCT nowadays if it's electrified.

Both torque converter and DCT transmission have electric creeping function. They are electric up to 20 or 30 km/h.
I'm talking about 2.5 MHEVs. They operate more like a full hybrids, nothing like a MHEV you've used before.

@patfromigh
Magna got 7 speed through buyout of Getrag. This is an old design which was electrified.
Renault group will use lower cost version of Magna sourced electrified DCT.

Peugeot has a history of building it in house thus Magna wasn't a choice. But also alongside building it in house or under a JV it was even more important to build it cheap, on price.

Are we talking about the 7-speed used in the SUSW vehicles or the 6-speed used in the CMP platform vehicles? The article isn't specific on what the eDCT to be built at Mirafiori is far as its origins and specifications.

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