• Stellantis announces plans to establish a manufacturing plant in SA.
• A memorandum of understanding was signed during the signing ceremony.

A multinational automotive manufacturing company Stellantis headquartered in Amsterdam is set to establish a manufacturing plant in South Africa. The company was formed in 2021 when Fiat Chrysler an Italian-American conglomerate merged with Peugeot Citroen on a basis of a 50-50 cross-border merger.

The automobile company on Wednesday inked a Memorandum of Understanding with the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (DTIC), and the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC). The signing ceremony took place at the office of Trade Minister, Ebrahim Patel in South Africa and was attended by IDC CEO TP Nchocho, Stellantis Africa COO Samir Cherfan, and SA MD Leslie Ramsoomar.

According to Samir, the announcement comes as an important step in the company’s “Dare Forward 2030” strategic plan. The company hopes to become a major player in South Africa as well as boost its leadership in the region.

However, the company did not state the vehicles to be manufactured in the set-to-be-built plant but it would be set up in an as-yet-unnamed Special Economic Zone with a completion date of 2025.

In 2021, Stellantis was the world’s fifth-largest automaker in terms of global vehicle sales. It has sold an average of 358 vehicles per month in the past three months. The company also owns 14 international brands and it currently markets Fiat, Alfa Romeo, Jeep, Opel, Peugeot, and Citroen in South Africa.

CEO of the IDC, TP Nchocho said “an investment partner like Stellantis is an amazing opportunity for South Africa”, he continued “it is another brick in the foundation towards our target of producing a million cars locally in SA”.