Research in the Automotive Industry
Industrial research as a source of technological innovation has acquired a central role in companies in the 1980s. Large manufacturing companies have been developing research systems made of structures co-ordinated with and complementary to one another, in an effort to achieve a rapid and proper flow of innovation. This paper discusses the research system of the Fiat Group, with special attention being paid to the inter-disciplinary, integrated research project developed by the Fiat Research Centre in co-operation with the ‘Progetto Finalizzato Trasporti’ drawn up by Consiglio Nazionale delle Richerche (CNR). Such a project implies the design and development of a research car aimed at becoming a reference for future projects for the energy saving cars to be produced in the 1990s.