TORINO – Stellantis announced investments of 5.6 billion euros (30 billion reais) in Brazil between 2025 and 2030, and the launch of 40 new products, strengthening the automotive group’s hybrid vehicle platform. This was announced at a press conference in Brasilia by the CEO, Carlos Tavares, after a meeting with President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. “This is the solidity of our confidence and commitment in the future of the South American automotive industry and is a response to the enabling environment we find here,” Tavares said.
According to the company, this is the largest investment in the history of the automotive industry in the country and in Latin America, a region in which the company is the market leader. The program also includes the development of decarbonisation technologies along the entire production chain. Stellantis, owned by Exor which also controls Republicfocuses mainly on Bio-Hybrid technology, which has different levels of electrification for flexible engines, with the use of ethanol, widely used in Brazil.
Stellantis-Ayvens, agreement for half a million cars by 2026 by Diego Longhin 26 February 2024
Stellantis plans an investment of 370 million euros (2 billion reais) in Argentina, the company’s second largest market in South America. “Today we have to 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”, said the group’s president for South America, Emanuele Cappellano.
The cash register is extended in Mirafiori
Meanwhile, at the Mirafiori plant in Turin, the redundancy fund for the Mirafiori body shops, already ongoing until March 30, is being extended from 2 to 2 April. 2,240 workers will be involved on a rotation basis. The company communicated this to the unions. “It is increasingly clear that Mirafiori needs a new model. We have complicated months ahead of us. We ask the institutions to accelerate a path that gives prospects to the entire Turin automotive sector”, says Luigi Paone. The request for layoffs was motivated by the company with a market trend that is still slow in the absence of the 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 the need for incentives to restart sales, especially of electric vehicles, in Italy. “Stellantis in Italy can produce one million vehicles per year, and it is in our interest to fully exploit this capacity. It is an objective already shared with the government”, said Tavares. However, it was explained that for this to happen, it is necessary that there is support for the purchase of electric vehicles for Italians, in a country where consumers have already demonstrated significant sensitivity towards price: “Government subsidies are needed to encourage the sale of electric vehicles for the middle class”.