The Coega Development Corporation (CDC) has started to prepare the site at the Coega Special Economic Zone for the construction of the new Stellantis vehicle-assembly plant, says the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (dtic).

The CDC is supplying the land on which the factory will be built.

The dtic adds that Stellantis and government’s development funder, the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC), have concluded “all of the key milestones” that will lead to the formation of the joint venture (JV) and its R3-billion investment in the Eastern Cape.

“The new company to house the Stellantis-IDC JV is on track to be registered,” notes IDC interim CEO David Jarvis.

Stellantis sells the Jeep, Alfa Romeo, Fiat, Citroën, Opel and Peugeot brands in South Africa, and is set to assemble a one-ton bakkie at the Coega plant.

Stellantis last year signed a memorandum of understanding with IDC and dtic to develop a manufacturing facility in South Africa.

“I welcome the progress made with concluding all modalities with Stellantis that will enable construction to commence this year, and start of production of a new auto model to roll off the assembly line by the end of 2025,” says Trade, Industry and Competition Minister Ebrahim Patel.

“We look forward to a long and mutually beneficial relationship between Stellantis and South Africa.”

Stellantis MD Mike Whitfield told Engineering News Online earlier this year, however, that production would only start in 2026.

“The construction of this plant is critical to Stellantis’ Dare Forward 2030 strategy,” notes Stellantis Middle East Africa (MEA) COO Samir Cherfan.

“This strategy also speaks to the South African industrialisation plan, which is a very important tool in helping us achieve our target to produce a million units in the MEA region by 2030  – a factor that will help us attain 22% market share in this region.

“Our medium- to long-term objective is to ensure that 90% of vehicles sold in the MEA region are sourced from our production plants in this region,” says Cherfan.

New Blood
Stellantis South Africa (SA) this week announced two new additions to its executive committee in order to strengthen its efforts in the domestic market.

Both are from Nissan South Africa (SA), following in the footsteps of Whitfield, who was the long-standing head of Nissan’s operations in the local and Africa markets before joining Stellantis.

Charl Timms has been appointed commercial director.

He joins Stellantis from BB Motor Group, and was formerly the sales and marketing director for Nissan SA.

Evanie Vather has been appointed customer experience, training and dealer network development head.

Vather joins Stellantis after 19 years at Nissan SA, where she was most recently responsible for marketing and sales control, as well as finance transformation for Africa.

With over 20 years of experience in the automotive industry, she has held several positions in aftersales, sales, export operations, finance and strategic planning.

“She has also acquired skills in new business development through the set-up of two assembly plants in Africa and key account management,” notes Stellantis SA.