Stellantis, the automaker resulting from the merger between Fiat Chrysler and France’s PSA Group, announced on Tuesday that it will manufacture ethanol-powered hybrid vehicles in the automotive hub of Goiana, located in the northeastern state of Pernambuco.
Production is set to use a section of a plant Stellantis already operates and will start in 2024. The company’s EV line will also manufacture fully battery-powered vehicles.
Brazil’s EV market remains relatively small, but has grown consistently. Between January and September, almost 58,000 EV units were sold — already an all-time record for the country, according to ABVE, an association of local EV producers.
From January to August, light electrified vehicles accounted for 3.6 percent of the total vehicle sales market share. In 2022, this share stood at 2.29 percent.
Pure hybrids, such as those to be produced by Stellantis, have the largest market share at 53 percent of EV sales. These vehicles are much more popular in Brazil than pure-electric models due to their lower prices.
Stellantis’s move comes in the coattails of as Chinese automaker BYD, the world’s leading producer of electric vehicles, has started works to convert a former Ford plant in the northeastern state of Bahia into an EV-producing plant. The government believes that the BYD presence in Bahia will generate 5,000 direct jobs and raise BRL 3 billion (USD 580 million) in investments.
Stellantis states that the production of hybrid and electric vehicles in Goiana is part of a global strategy aimed at achieving complete decarbonization of its operations and products by 2038, along with a 50 percent reduction in CO2 emissions by 2030.
Inaugurated in 2015, the Stellantis Automotive Hub in Goiana, Pernambuco, is responsible for producing four models: the Jeep Renegade, Compass, and Commander, the Fiat Toro, and the Ram pickup truck.
The hub comprises the Stellantis plant and 18 additional suppliers located within the Stellantis perimeter. Together, according to the company, they are responsible for over 14,000 jobs.
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