Since FSO, known for its models Polski Fiat and Polonez of the communist era, stopped producing cars in 2011, Poland no longer has an automobile manufacturer.
However, the automotive sector remains the country’s largest industry at the moment, accounting for about 7% of Poland’s GDP and supports thousands of jobs in production and similar services. Fiat Chrysler, Opel (Peugeot-Citroon) and Volkswagen have factories in the country.
A decade after FSO’s disappearance, waiting for a car that Poland can call its own would possibly come to an end, regardless. Last month, ElectroMobility Poland, a state-backed joint venture created in 2016 through 4 Polish power companies, unveiled two prototype cars under the Izera brand, which it hopes will be in a position to go into production in 2023.
The two models, an SUV and a sedan, with code names Z100 and T100 respectively, are all electric.
The SUV and sedan, which look good, promise acceptable performance, albeit far from being revolutionary. From 0 to one hundred km / h takes less than 8 seconds while diversity will achieve it in up to 400 kilometers. Izera aims to offer two battery packs compatible with wall chargers for the home, as well as fast charging stations. This can be very important given that the country lately has only 1,194 recharge points, compared to more than 27,000 in neighboring Germany.
Obvious comparisons have been made to the Tesla US logo in some automotive circles, but ‘ukasz Maliczenko, director of technical progression at ElectroMobility Poland minimizes them.
“Izera electric cars are not meant to be luxury goods, but affordable cars through Poles,” he says.
Adam Sikorski, president of the Polish car group, who has the highest hopes for the project, prefers to make comparisons with the FSO Polski Fiat 126, affectionately nicknamed maluch (small).
“Providing a Polish electric car will give us the newest technical knowledge, the progression of which can continue through Polish corporations in the coming years. This is what happened once the Italians moved their Fiat 126 production plant to Poland,” he says.
“Initially, all production was based on an Italian license and Italian components, however, over time, more and more Polish brands became concerned about the allocation. They laid the foundation for the existing Polish automotive sector. We hope that this good fortune can be repeated and that the generation acquired through the allocation can be used in other mobility allocations. The Polish automotive organization has been invited through ElectroMobility Poland to the assignment on the origin chain side, with respect to portions and components. We will do our best to locate solid local suppliers and premium portions for the order and invite all interested entities to collaborate with us.
Izera’s prototype design is the paintings of an independent Italian studio, Torino Design, while Jaguar designer Tadeusz Jelec has long been a mapping consultant.
“We seek to emphasize the uniqueness of the car, so that everyone identifies the Izera logo as soon as they see the vehicle on the street,” says Roberto Piatti of Torino Design.
“We spent many hours designing the appearance of the prototype. As we toured the works of fresh Polish artists, we sought inspiration and landmarks to highlight the Polish character of our brand. At the same time, it is incredibly vital to us that the shape of the car evokes positive emotions. After all, it’s meant to be a circle of family members of the car,” Jelec says.
When prototypes go into production, they will most likely make modifications to the cars presented in July. ElectroMobility Poland’s chief executive, Piotr Zaremba, says production models will “retain the characters of those vehicles.”
Poland’s nationalist government, led through the Law and Justice (PiS) component, has been willing to advertise and invest in local businesses with the goal of creating globally competitive giants since taking over the workplace in 2015. The government this month announced its goal of merging 3 of ElectroMobility Poland’s 4 shareholders (PGE, Enea, Tauron) into two teams as a component of a plan to reform the entire electricity sector. The fourth shareholder, Energa, acquired in April through the state oil company PKN Orlen.
Izera’s progression is part of this trend and the government expects it to stimulate studies and progression, as well as innovation, across the country.
“Building a Polish electric car logo will be a difficult and ambitious task for the entire national studies sector,” says Piotr Dardzi-ski, general manager of the Outisiewicz network of studios.
Electric cars in Poland, however, are only for Poles. The assignment has foreign ambitions, as suggested by its call, which comes from the mountains of Izera in the southwest of the country.
“With their gentle hills and vast expanses, the mountains are the best for the circle of relatives and have a unique character. Like our car,” says Pawe-Tomaszek, Director of ElectroMobility Poland’s Office of Commercial Development and Communications.
“The Izera Mountains cross borders, located in both Poland and the Czech Republic. Similarly, the Izera logo crosses geographical and symbolic barriers because the assignment reaches a team of foreign experts. At the same time, the call is excellent and easy to pronounce and memorize not only for Poles. After all, Izera has European aspirations and can also be held outdoors in Poland. »
With the exception of the two beautiful prototypes, the Izera has lately exists on paper only. There is no factory, and neither the Polish company nor the Polish government has so far given a genuine concept of how the allocation will be financed. Obviously, there is a market for cars, if its value is smart enough: Poland has fewer than 7000 all-electric cars on its roads, the country is a leader in the production of electric buses, with Solaris, founded in Bolechowo-Osiedle near Poznao, a generation of cars for European cities.
For Izera to rise to Solaris’ success, a huge investment will be needed. And time is running out for its shareholders, and the Polish government, to devote enough money to succeed in their 2023 target.
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