News

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA), manufacturer of one of the camping industry’s favourite base vehicles the Fiat Ducato, has announced a joint venture with ENGIE EPS, a leading company in the e-mobility sector. The two companies are said to have entered a ‘memorandum of understanding’ aimed at creating a joint venture, which could lead to considerable evolution in the push towards affordable and useable electric vehicles.

The partnership is a perfect match in many ways – it will combine FCA’s financial resources and industrial footprint with ENGIE EPS’s technological know-how and access to a huge intellectual property portfolio of hundreds of patents and industrial secrets.

Mike Manley, CEO of FCA, said: “The signing of this Memorandum of Understanding originates from a fruitful three-year cooperation between the two companies, which allowed the implementation of truly disruptive projects, such as the introduction of the exclusive FCA easyWallbox, an easy-to-use plug-andplay charging unit, the recently launched V2G Pilot Project and the innovative customer-oriented energy packages.

“The envisioned Joint Venture would allow an even higher commitment from both parties to expand the scope of the existing cooperation and further develop innovative products and services to enable and support a smooth shift to electric mobility in Europe.”

So what does this mean? Well, once the full set of agreements are signed by the end of 2020, work will begin on the joint venture in the first quarter of 2021, with the aims of:

• Moving ahead into a new era of sustainable mobility
• Offering everyone easy and convenient access to electric mobility
• Development of charging infrastructure as well as vehicles across Europe
• Creation of green energy packages for consumers on a subscription service

Just imagine, you drive your electric Fiat Ducato-based motorhome along the motorway, stop to charge at a charging station paid for by your monthly subscription, and then head onto the campsite for a much greener camping experience. It’s the place many companies in the industry are aiming for, and it may become that little bit closer, helped along by this joint venture.