The signing ceremony took place at the office of Ebrahim Patel, Minister of Trade, Industry and Competition, and was attended by TP Nchocho, CEO of the IDC, Samir Cherfan, Chief Operating Officer for Stellantis Middle East and Africa, and Leslie Ramsoomar, Stellantis South Africa’s Managing Director.

“I am pleased that Stellantis is looking to South Africa to expand its manufacturing footprint,” said Patel. “The company is a large global automaker, with a range of well-known brands. South Africa is a great investment destination with significant car-making capacity. We look forward to working closely with Stellantis to enable the company to set up a plant that will expand our manufacturing base and create local jobs,” he said.

“This is an important step in our Dare Forward 2030 strategic plan towards strengthening our leadership in the Middle East and Africa region and becoming a major player in South Africa,” said Cherfan. “The manufacturing site in South Africa will be a new building block in our industrialisation strategy, which includes the plan to sell one million vehicles in the region by 2030 with 70% regional production autonomy and which will bring us closer to our customers’ needs in the region.”

The manufacturing plant is planned to be set up in a South African Special Economic Zone (SEZ). The aim is to complete this manufacturing project by 2025.

“An investment partner like Stellantis is an amazing opportunity for South Africa,” said Nchocho. “The company’s track record in manufacturing plants around the world is impressive, and we look forward to a joint venture with Stellantis to build a successful plant in South Africa. Another arrow in our quiver to reach our target of producing a million cars locally in SA.”

Stellantis owns vehicle brands such as Fiat, Alfa Romeo, Citroën, Jeep, Opel, Peugeot and Abarth.