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25 AutoData | May 2018 of Industry 4.0, the one in which connecti- vity and virtual reality go hand in handwith reductions cost savings, profitability gains, safer vehicles and better quality compo- nents, says José Rizzo, president of ABII, Brazilian Industrial Internet Association: “They are requirements of the new rea- lity in which the vehicle industry is, having in the modernization a possibility to gain new markets and overcome difficulties. More than that is the possibility of raising the Brazilian production level, although a permanent movement is much more needed”. Disclousure/Renault The need for greater efficiency and the search of the external market have led our factories to remarkable evolutions He, whose entity aggregates some of the companies that provide technology to automakers, believes that the focus on digital manufacturing is a way with no return. Some good steps have already been taken. REASONS AND REACTIONS In 2015, soon after the outbreak of the negative market situation until Decem- ber last year, FCA inaugurated a plant in Goiana, PE, at a cost of R$ 2 billion. The project marked the entry of the Brazilian subsidiary from Fiat Chrysler Group into what was the most modern in terms of vehicle production: it must have been enough cutting-edge technology to produce new Fiat models and the new national Jeeps Renegade and Compass. To distinguish them in the segment was necessary to adopt new manufacturing processes and, therefore, the lines should have new configurations and tools. The focus on technologywas succes- sful for FCA: the need to produce more modern national vehicles meant that the company had access to technologies that enabled it to be more operationally effi- cient. The company acquired 1 thousand 100 collaborative robots to operate on the lines of the Jeep Automotive Polo and there was also the creation of a labo- ratory, Manufacturing 2020, which tests new technologies and processes focused on the concepts of Industry 4.0. The mo-