stellantis accelerates in South America with a maxi plan of 5,6 billion of euros of investments expected between 2025 and 2030 Brazil, accompanied by the launch of 40 new products and the introduction of a hybrid vehicle platform. This move, in a market traditionally linked to liquid fuels, marks a significant step towards hybrid, opening up new prospects for Europe too.
The plan, announced during a press conference in Brasilia by the CEO of Stellantis Carlos Tavares after a meeting with the president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, includes the introduction of hybrid technology on flex-fuel models, until now powered by petrol and ethanol.
Stellantis' investment plan for South America
The innovation Bio-Hybrid, flexible and adaptable to different Stellantis models, is the heart of this ambitious project. Tavares underlined the importance of this step for the future of the South American automotive industry, declaring: “This is the sign of our confidence and commitment to the market, responding to the favorable environment we find here.”
The strengthening of its presence in Brazil is a strategic step in a market where General Motors, Volkswagen e Hyundai have already announced huge investments. With two mega plants in Goiana and Betim, the latter the largest Fiat plant in the world, the automotive giant, the result of the Franco-Italian marriage between PSA and FCA, has played a fundamental role in the motorization of South America for fifty years, producing a wide range of models, including the famous Strada pick-up.
But Stellantis looks beyond Brazil: theArgentina is in the crosshairs with a investment of 370 million of Euro. With the acquisition of 19,9% in Argentina Litio y Energía, the group paves the way for the creation of a supply chain for battery raw materials, fundamental for the electrified cars at the center of its development plan..”Today we must celebrate an important day for Stellantis in Brazil, but that doesn't mean we don't have plans for Argentina, where we are market leaders and have two very important factories,” he said Emanuele Cappellano, president of the South America group.
Stellantis extends the layoffs to Mirafiori
Meanwhile in the factory mirafiori a Torino is prolonged from 2 to 2 April layoffs at the Carrozzerie di Mirafiori, already underway until March 30th. “2.240 workers will be involved on a rotational basis,” the company communicated to the unions. “It is increasingly clear that Mirafiori needs a new model. Complicated months await us. We ask the institutions to accelerate a path that gives prospects to the entire Turin automotive sector", declared Luigi Paone.
The request for layoffs was motivated by the company with a market trend that is still slow in the absence of new incentives for the purchase of electric and electrified cars announced last February 1st but which to date have not yet come into force.
And Tavares from Brasilia recalls “Stellantis in Italy can produce one million vehicles a year, and it is in our interest to fully exploit this capacity. It is an objective already shared with the government,” said the CEO. But for this to happen, he explained, there needs to be a support for the purchase of electric vehicles for Italians, in a country where consumers have already demonstrated an important sensitivity towards price: "Government subsidies are needed to encourage the sale of electric vehicles for the middle class".
