Stellantis Group will invest R$30 billion in Brazil – 03/06/2024 – Market

The Stellantis group confirmed this Wednesday (6) an investment of R$30 billion in Brazil between 2025 and 2030. The amount will be directed to different areas, but the main focus is on the development of hybrid flex models. It will be the largest investment ever made by an automaker in the country in this period of time.

The announcement was made after a meeting between President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) and company executives. Carlos Tavares, global CEO of the Stellantis group, came to the country to participate in the meeting. The manufacturer brings together the brands Fiat, Jeep, Peugeot, Citroën and RAM – all with vehicles produced in Brazil. There are assembly lines in Minas Gerais, Pernambuco and Rio de Janeiro.

The investment will give rise to 40 cars, a number that brings together new models and updates to vehicles that are already in line. According to the automaker, there will be four new platforms, which will give rise to flex hybrid cars of different levels, in addition to a 100% electric option.

“We have the ambition to have 20% of the fleet purely electric in Brazil, which will also depend on infrastructure”, says Emanuele Cappellano, president of the Stellantis group in South America.

The executive states that, due to the experience with ethanol, Brazil has become the center for the development of the automaker’s new hybrid systems.

“We have a competitive advantage, which is ethanol. Even a BEV [carro 100% elétrico] in Europe, considering the energy supply chain, it cannot reach the level [de descarbonização] that we have in Brazil”, says Capellano.

The automaker calls its future product line Bio-Hybrid. One of the highlights is the e-DCT option, equipped with an automatic dual-clutch transmission — which is the translation of the acronym DCT, “dual clutch transmission”.

In this case, an electric motor is installed next to the gearbox and managed by a central unit. There is also a battery that allows you to store energy to travel a few kilometers without burning fuel (gasoline or ethanol).

The solution will equip more expensive Stellantis models, such as future versions of the Jeep Compass. For compact cars, the alternatives are optimized starting systems, known as mild hybrids.

Part of the R$30 billion will be directed to the expansion of after-sales services, with the expansion of service points for vehicles that are already out of warranty.

In January, the Stellantis group acquired 70% of Comercial Automotiva, which owns the Dpaschoal chain. According to the automaker, the auto parts market generated more than R$96 billion in South America in 2022. In Brazil, it was approximately R$61 billion in the period.

In total, investments announced by automakers in 2024 already exceed R$60 billion. On Tuesday (5), Toyota confirmed an investment of R$11 billion to produce new flex hybrid models. According to the Japanese automaker, 2,000 direct jobs will be created.