Stellantis to invest €5,6 billion in EVs and bio-hybrids in Brazil

Stellantis, including brands such as Citroën, DS, Peugeot, Jeep, Fiat, and Alfa Romeo, will invest 5,6 billion euros in South America between 2025 and 2030, the largest investment ever in the South American automotive sector.

The group aims to develop its EV offerings on the continent and promote its ‘bio-hybrid’ technologies, which combine electrification and engines powered by ethanol.

Stellantis posted a record profit of 18,6 billion euros last year, up 11% from 2022. Before that, the group had a net cash position with cash exceeding debt by 15 billion euros. Add that fact to the group’s backlog of EV sales, development, and manufacturing, and it was only a matter of time before Stellantis would come out with news of much-needed new investments.

With 14 brands, Stellantis is the region’s leader, selling 878,000 vehicles in 2023, accounting for a 23.5% market share. Fiat is the best-selling brand in South America, thanks partly to the Fiat Strada pickup, the most popular vehicle on the continent.

Biofuel pioneer

The 5.6 billion euro investment is expected to enable the launch of more than 40 new products by the end of the decade. It is part of the Dare Forward 2030 plan, which invests 50 billion euros to electrify the group’s range by the end of the decade.

Stellantis says the Betim plant in Brazil, where the Strada pickup is produced, is the company’s global center of excellence for the technology. In the future, the region will also make a battery-electric vehicle (BEV).

The biohybrid technology developed is also compatible with all the company’s production lines in the region. “Fiat was the first manufacturer to develop and implement an engine powered by biofuel using 100% ethanol,” recalls the group. The launch is scheduled for the end of 2024.

Toyota hybrid biofuel cars

Stellantis sees South America as an important part of the group’s ‘third engine’, which comprises Africa, the Middle East, China, India, and Asia-Pacific. Stellantis, which is the leader in Brazil, Argentina, and Chile, recently acquired a 19.9% stake in an Argentinian company that produces lithium, a metal essential for EV battery production.

Toyota, the world’s number one automobile manufacturer, has also announced an investment of 2 billion euros by 2030 in Brazil to increase its production of hybrid biofuel vehicles. This flex-fuel allows you to fuel either with gasoline, E85 super ethanol, or mixing the two. More than 92% of the cars in Brazil are moved by ethanol.

Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula Da Silva welcomed on X a “new important stage for the Brazilian economy. Private companies are once again investing in Brazil’s future,” wrote Da Silva, grinning at his predecessor Jair Bolsonaro. Around 2,3 million cars are produced annually in Brazil.