Stellantis Plans on Building Cars Locally, Boosting Jobs
Stellantis is slated to expand its manufacturing footprint following an announcement that it will start building vehicles in South Africa as part of its Dare Forward 2030 strategic plan.
This move will see the brand joining locally-built manufacturers such as BMW, Nissan, Toyota, Ford, Isuzu, Ford, Volkswagen and Mercedes-Benz.
So far, Stellantis has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Industrial Development and the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition to develop a manufacturing plant in the country which, according to the carmaker, will help create local jobs.
“The manufacturing site in South Africa will be a new building block in our industrialisation strategy that includes the plan to sell one million vehicles in the region by 2030 with 70% regional production autonomy and will bring us closer to our customer’s needs in the region,” says Leslie Ramsoomar, Stellantis SA MD.
Stellantis hopes to complete the manufacturing project by 2025, and word on the street states that a yet-to-be-named model is on the cards. At this stage in Africa, Stellantis has plants in Algeria, Morocco, Namibia and Nigeria.
The brand’s local market share isn’t where it wants to be on the sales charts. For a clear perspective, the brand that oversees eight brands in SA, sold 298 units in February, and the new local manufacturing plant will undoubtedly help elevate sales in the country.
