Magneti Marelli and Faurecia joint-venture (JV), named FMM Pernambuco Componentes Automotivos Limitada (FMM), has started production of interior and exterior parts for vehicles assembled at the new Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) plant in Goiana (Brazil), Magneti Marelli announced in a press release yesterday (7 May).
“We are, above all, honoured to participate in and to contribute to this important project, which will see the creation of the largest, most sustainable and most technological industrial plant of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles in the world. In addition, Brazil is for us a benchmark market we have been operating in since 1978 and where we have a significant industrial presence. The partnership with Faurecia is very important because we can effectively integrate our mutual know-how in order to best contribute to key projects such as those related to Pernambuco," said Eugenio Razelli, CEO of Magneti Marelli.
Significance: Magneti Marelli owns a 65% stake in FMM and Faurecia owns 35%. The JV manufactures vehicle interior parts such as instrument panel, cockpit, center console and door panels, as well as exterior parts such as bumpers and spoilers. The new plant is set-up in the strategic supplier park located within the FCA Brazilian plant area, which was inaugurated in April this year, along with other key tier one suppliers, the press release said. The plant has started supplying parts for the Jeep Renegade.
The partnership between Magneti Marelli and Faurecia started in November 2013 when the two companies inked a cooperation agreement to form a JV to design, develop and manufacture human-machine interface (HMI) vehicle interior products; in July 2014, the European Union (EU) approved the JV.
Magneti Marelli operates 16 production units and five research and development (R&D) centres in Brazil with about 9,000 employees. Faurecia operates 15 plants and three R&D centres and currently employs 3,400 people in the region.
