Stellantis agrees to build first plant in South Africa (updated)

Tofas Turk Otomobil Fabrikasi

08/03/2023 17:15

(Adds details of the agreement, context)
       PARIS, March 8 (Reuters) - Stellantis  STLAM.MI  said on
Wednesday it had reached a preliminary agreement with South
African authorities to build a production site, its first in the
country, by the end of 2025.
    Under the deal, the new plant will be set up in one of South
Africa's special economic zones, the Franco-Italian carmaker and
local authorities said in a joint statement.
    "The manufacturing site in South Africa will be a new
building block in our industrialization 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
customers' needs in the region," Stellantis Middle East and
Africa (MEA) Chief Operating Officer Samir Cherfan said in the
statement. 
    Stellantis, the world's third largest auto manufacturer by
sales and the owner of brands including Fiat, Peugeot, Citroen
and Jeep, currently has nine plants in its MEA region, which
groups 80 countries including Turkey and Pakistan.
    The new plant is expected to produce vehicles for both the
local market and for export, a spokesperson for the carmaker
told Reuters.
    Stellantis earlier this month announced an agreement with
its Turkish partner Koc Holding  KCHOL.IS  aimed at further
expanding their local joint venture Tofas.

 (Reporting by Dina Kartit and Gilles Guillaume; writing by
Giulio Piovaccari; editing by Tassilo Hummel and Mark Potter)
 ((giulio.piovaccari@thomsonreuters.com))