Stellantis announced it recently invested €33 million in two of its global testing facilities to support the company’s long-term strategy to achieve best-in-class electric vehicle (EV) performance and master the highest level of autonomous driving technology while ensuring safe and reliable technology for its customers. 

These investments, among other R&D Capex, expand Stellantis’ global capability to engineer the future of mobility, accelerate its transformation into a sustainable mobility tech company and propel the company toward the goals of the Dare Forward 2030 strategic plan, notably a 50% reduction in carbon emissions from 2021 levels by 2030 and carbon net zero emissions by 2038, the company says.

The recent enhancements include:

• Orbassano Safety Center, near Turin, Italy, is fully integrated with digital engineering processes and significantly upgraded to host four test tracks with four impact points and capabilities for full testing of battery-electric vehicles (BEVs) and automated driving technology for passenger cars, trucks, and light commercial vehicles. The €5 million in upgrades for the Orbassano Safety Center give it the capability to test all types of electrified vehicles – mild hybrid, plug-in hybrid and battery electric vehicles. The facility currently runs at least two crash tests a day and is on track to test more than 275 electrified vehicles this year. Vehicles tested at Orbassano can be certified to meet more than 175 international safety and technological standards. 
  
• Wind Tunnel in Auburn Hills, Michigan, is being scaled up with the addition of moving ground plane technology, simulating on-road travel and providing more accurate aerodynamics measurement of vehicles. Reducing wind drag benefits the driving range of BEVs. Stellantis is investing $29.5 million in the project.
  

“Our world-class tech hubs across the globe are doing the work today that will make tomorrow’s Stellantis vehicles industry leaders in capability, performance and safety,” said Harald Wester, Stellantis chief engineering officer. “Our engineering community is fueled by talent, diversity and global reach, and we are intensely working with the other global functions, as our Monozokuri peers, to energize the core of our technological transformation. It gives us a comprehensive view of the challenges and enables us to consider and refine a full menu of mobility solutions that will put us in the front row of the race to innovate and improve.”