The 5.6 billion euros announced will be used in particular to finance “Bio-Hybrid” technology, according to the automobile giant (AFP / JEFF KOWALSKY)
Stellantis will invest 5.6 billion euros in South America between 2025 and 2030, the automobile group announced on Wednesday, in order to develop its offer of electric vehicles on the continent but also “Bio-Hybrid technologies”, combining electrification and engines. powered by ethanol.
This investment is “the largest in the history of the Brazilian and South American automotive sector,” Stellantis said in its press release.
It should enable “the launch of more than 40 new products” by the end of the decade. “This announcement reinforces our confidence and our commitment to the future of the South American automotive industry, and constitutes a response to the favorable commercial context that prevails there,” declared the group’s general director, Carlos Tavares, quoted in the press release. .
The group with 14 brands is the leader in the region where it sold 878,000 vehicles in 2023, representing a market share of 23.5%. Fiat is the best-selling brand in South America, notably thanks to the Fiat Strada pick-up, the most popular vehicle on the continent.
This investment is part of the Dare Forward 2030 plan which provides for 50 billion euros of investment in the electrification of the group’s range by the end of the decade. The 5.6 billion euros announced will be used in particular to finance “Bio-Hybrid” technology, which combines electrification and hybrid engines powered by biofuels (ethanol)”, detailed Stellantis.
The Betim site in Brazil, which produces Fiat vehicles – including the Strada pick-up – “is the company’s global center of expertise” for this technology. “In the future, the region will also produce a battery electric vehicle (BEV),” continues Stellantis.
The Bio-Hybrid technology developed “is compatible with all of the company’s production lines in the region”. Its launch is planned by the end of 2024, according to the automotive group.
South America is presented by Stellantis as an essential element of the “third engine” of the group formed with Africa, the Middle East, China, India and Asia-Pacific. Stellantis recently acquired 19.9% of an Argentinian company producing lithium, a metal essential for the manufacture of batteries, in order to “meet the electrification objectives defined in its global strategic plan”.