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Fiat-GM Powertrain / FCA Powertrain engine plant in Bielsko-Biała (1.3 MultiJet)

completedstage: operationaldelivered
PLN 1.6 billion
programme budget (multi-year) · data from 2005net or gross: not recorded≈ PLN 1.6 billion (value-by-stage, est., nominal)funding: private financeThe source gives 370 mn EUR. The zloty figure is our conversion at the rate for 2003, so the site fixed rate will not reproduce it.

A diesel engine plant in Bielsko-Biała (Śląskie Voivodeship, Katowice Special Economic Zone) launched to produce a new family of 1.3 SDE MultiJet turbodiesels. The company FIAT-GM Powertrain Polska Sp. z o.o. was set up in December 2000 as a 50/50 joint venture between Fiat (Fiat Auto) and General Motors. The investment behind the launch of the 1.3 SDE Turbo Diesel engine cost close to EUR 370 million (about PLN 1.63 billion at the 2003 exchange rate) and created jobs for more than 1,300 people. The first engines came off the line at the end of March 2003; annual production capacity was planned to rise to 700,000 units. The 1.3 MultiJet engine, the world's first to use MultiJet technology (a development of the Common Rail system), was named Engine of the Year in 2005. After Fiat bought out GM's stake, the plant operated as Fiat Powertrain Technologies and then as FCA Powertrain Poland (the first FCA plant in the world to reach Gold level in World Class Manufacturing); from its start in 2003 it produced more than 7.3 million engines. In January 2024 the Bielsko-Biała plant was put into liquidation because of European Commission emissions regulations and falling orders for combustion engines; collective redundancies affected the entire remaining workforce of 468 people, and the plant closed by the end of 2024.

How it went

Assessment: settled, as of 25 Jul 2026. This is our reading, not a verdict, and we show it only where a quote from a source listed below stands behind it. Of the four, 2 carry no assessment yet. How to read this section

Deliverydelivered[4]
Utilisationnot operational[5]
łączna produkcja silników od uruchomienia do zamknięcia
Current
ponad 7,3 mln silników (2003–2024); produkcja zakończona, zakład w likwidacji od stycznia 2024 r.
Capacity or target
do 700 tys. silników rocznie (docelowe zdolności)
Unit
silniki

Timeline

  1. DeliveryMar 2003

Change history

  • Mar 2003stage: operational

Significance

The launch of 1.3 MultiJet turbodiesel production was one of the largest foreign automotive investments in Poland and for years made the Bielsko-Biała plant the largest employer and manufacturing site in the Podbeskidzie region. The 1.3 MultiJet engine produced there was the first in the world to use MultiJet technology and received the Engine of the Year title in 2005; it was fitted in models from Fiat, Lancia, Alfa Romeo, Opel and Suzuki, among others. From its start in 2003 until closure, the plant produced more than 7.3 million engines, reinforcing Bielsko-Biała's role as a centre of the Polish car industry (the "Polish Detroit"). In January 2024 the plant was put into liquidation as a result of tightening European Commission exhaust-emission standards and falling demand for combustion engines; this ended more than two decades of production and involved collective redundancies affecting the entire remaining workforce of 468 people.

Sources 5 · 5 independent · 2 archived

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  1. [1]Turbo napęd Fiat-GM ↗
    Auto Świat13 Jul 2005
    Cost
    CostInwestycja związana z uruchomieniem silnika Turbo Diesel 1.3 SDE pochłonęła blisko 370 mln euro
  2. [2]Fiat-GM Powertrain: 700 tys. silników rocznie ↗
    WNP.pl2005
    DeliveryFunding
    DeliveryPierwsze silniki zjechały z taśmy pod koniec marca 2003 roku.
    FundingW uruchomienie w produkcji Fiat wspólnie z General Motors zainwestowały blisko 400 milionów euro
  3. [3]FCA POWERTRAIN POLAND Sp. z o.o. ↗archived ✓
    Grupa FCA (fcagroup.pl)
  4. [4]Bielski Fiat Powertrain wyprodukował 5-milionowy silnik MultiJet ↗
    Money.pl / PAP22 Mar 2013
    StatusStageInvestorDelivery
    Status · Deliveryczterocylindrowy, 16-zaworowy silnik wysokoprężny o pojemności 1248 cm sześc. jest produkowany w bielskiej fabryce od 2003 roku
    StageSpółka podała w komunikacie, że czterocylindrowy, 16-zaworowy silnik wysokoprężny o pojemności 1248 cm sześc. jest produkowany w bielskiej fabryce od 2003 roku.
    InvestorW wyniku umowy joint-venture pomiędzy Fiatem i General Motors nazwa została zmieniona na Fiat-GM Powertrain Polska
  5. [5]Bielska fabryka koncernu Stellantis zostanie zamknięta. Grupowe zwolnienia obejmą 468 pracowników ↗archived ✓
    Ślązag.pl3 Feb 2024
    Utilisation
    UtilisationW styczniu 2024 roku spółka FCA Powertrain została postawiona w stan likwidacji.