HYDERABAD: There will soon be another feather in Hyderabad’s cap. Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA), a global automotive giant, is all set to kick-start plans to se tup a research and development centre at Gachibowli in Hyderabad in partnership with the Telangana government.
The company is planning to invest close to USD 150 million and it is expected to provide jobs to 2,400 youths. An official announcement to this effect will be made on Wednesday.
The automotive brands of FCA include some of the world’s best engineered and luxury cars, including Abarth, Alfa Romeo, Chrysler, Dodge, Fiat, Fiat Professional, Jeep, Lancia, Ram and Maserati. While the automobile giant has over 48 R&D centres across the world in over 40 countries, this will be their first R&D centre in India.
Currently, the company has manufacturing centres in Mumbai and Chennai. The company has taken up a 400-seat capacity space in Wipro SEZ and will be expanding it to 1,000 seats progressively in 2021.
The focus of the Hyderabad R&D is to digitise every aspect of FCA’s automotive operations globally and within India, drive the shift from legacy to digital through the adoption of emerging technologies, develop digital products and services and modernise the company’s existing application and products portfolio, an official source said.
Besides accelerating FCA’s digital transformation journey, the purpose of the new centre is to build strong competencies and expertise in technology areas that are critical to FCA’s strategic business.