Motor Valley, a 16-billion euros worth industrial district, an instrument for tourist promotion of our territory
With the 2020 UCI Road World Championships in Imola – Emilia-Romagna underway, a great tradition of a Region historically keen on the two-wheelers finds its consecration once again.
However, it’s along the Via Emilia that runs also a great passion for engines.
It’s an old passion, connected to the agricultural roots of Emilia-Romagna. It has evolved and grown over the years. This tradition is still lively thanks to endless technological research and experimentation and high-standard vocational and academic projects.
Ferrari, Maserati, Ducati, Lamborghini, Dallara, Pagani. Some of the most prestigious and globally renowned automotive brands are concentrated in a territory of hardly 150 kilometres.
And let us mention its racing circuits: Varano de’ Melegari, Modena, the Misano World Circuit, named after Marco Simoncelli, aka “Sic”, besides Enzo e Dino Ferrari Racetrack in Imola that is going to host the Formula 1 Grand Prix and the 2020 UCI Road World Championships over a few weeks.
And more to it. A unique network of specialised museums, private collections, training centres, minimoto and karting tracks along with crossodromes. Furthermore, many motorbike and car champions were born here.
In short, the Motor Valley is an important industrial district that includes 16,500 companies with over 66,000 employees, a yearly 16-billion euros turnover and a 7-billion euros export.
An instrument of promotion of our territory for tourism as well. The Tourist Observatory of the Motor Valley, that is, a study developed by the Unioncamere Emilia Romagna, Trademark Italia, and Mailander, shows that “the Motor Valley” has drawn 1.8 billion visitors to our territory in 2018, out of which 44% Italians and 56% from abroad (over 1.2 million overnight stays) and over 300 million euros from the events taking place in the circuits of Imola and Misano and the visits of the companies’ museums that impact also on the towns’ economy.
A great cultural heritage where the love of speed is joined to the pleasure of know-how and the enterpreneurship – one of the hallmarks of this region and its inhabitants.
The unprecedented challenges of e-mobility: China chooses Emilia-Romagna
Our region does not avoid new challenges. First of all, e-mobility. The green transition required by Europe is already underway in the Motor Valley with the mini-district of the electric automotive, the international success of Energica Motor and some interesting potential developments with international investors.
In May 2020 a great investment by FAW – the largest Chinese car manufacturer (almost 4 million vehicles sold in China and a 90-billion dollars turnover) – and Silk EV – an engineering and car design company – was announced for the planning, engineering and manufacturing of high-end full electric and plug-in cars in Italy, notably in Emilia-Romagna’s Motor Valley.
A 1-billion euros investment has been made to develop a new ecosystem of state-of-the-art technological innovation and automotive engineering by joining expertise and Italian culture in the premium and super premium segments, with the emergence of an actual electric automotive hub in the Motor Valley, that Region Emilia-Romagna is supporting.
Investing on expertise: The Motorvehicle University of Emilia-Romagna
One of the new challenges we are facing is the investment on knowledge, expertise and the new generations.
MUNER, the Motorvehicle University of Emilia-Romagna is exemplary: young talents both from Italy and across the world, keen on innovation in the motorbike and car sector, are recruited by the major international automotive brands to develop the future of this sector by attending innovative graduate programmes taught in English.
It is a unique project in the Italian and foreign panorama, that Region Emilia-Romagna has strongly sought and, since 2017, it has been developing a synergistic bridge among universities, research agencies and the industry and it has financially supported the Associazione Motorvehicle University of Emilia-Romagna. This non-profit organisation involves universities of excellence in higher education – University of Bologna, University of Ferrara, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, University of Parma – and the automotive companies that represent the Made in Italy excellence worldwide and have their historic roots in our territory: Automobili Lamborghini, Dallara, Ducati, Ferrari, HaasF1Team, HPE COXA, Marelli, Maserati, Pagani, Scuderia AlphaTauri.
Every year the engineers of the future in automotive graduate here, helping to strengthen the primacy of a sector – the Emilia-Romagna Motor Valley – unique in the world.