Stellantis to manufacture STLA Small vehicles in Spain

The car company is considering an investment of billions of euros to convert two of its plants. The Spanish state is also expected to give it a helping hand.

Stellantis wants to invest more than one billion euros in its Spanish plants in Vigo and Zaragoza in order to produce electric small cars based on the STLA Small platform there from 2025. However, no electric cars are to be built on the new platform in Madrid.

Spain’s largest daily newspaper El País reports on the investment plans, citing sources privy to the plans. There had already been rumours to this effect in June. The information that the implementation of the STLA Small platform is not planned for the factory in Madrid, the smallest of the three Stellantis plants in Spain, also comes from El País.

The production plans for small electric cars also increase the likelihood that Stellantis will locate a battery factory in Spain. Micky Bly, Head of Global Propulsion Systems at Stellantis, recently told Reuters that the company plans to expand its global battery production capacity from the currently announced 250 gigawatt hours to 400 GWh.

Stellantis had announced the new STLA platform shortly after its foundation in 2021. Accordingly, the STLA Small for micro and compact cars replaces the second generation of the e-CMP platform. The new platform is to enable ranges of at least 500 kilometres for passenger cars in the A, B and C segments. In addition, there is also STLA Medium for passenger cars in segments C and D and STLA Large for passenger cars in segments D and E with ranges of up to 700 and 800 kilometres respectively. The fourth Stellantis platform from 2024 will be STLA Frame for large SUVs and pickup trucks with BEV ranges of at least 500 kilometres.

Stellantis has not yet commented on the reports of building small STLA models in Spain, and according to media reports, the plan will be officially announced “in November at the earliest”. The car company is hoping for state financial support for the conversion of its Vigo and Zaragoza plants. According to El País, the manufacturer has applied for subsidies amounting to 150 million euros under the Perte support programme.

Stellantis already produces the Opel Corsa and the Peugeot e-208 in Spain. In view of the latest developments, France would probably have the latter back, as it is not built on the new STLA platform. However, Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares had already turned down the project in July. However, Stellantis had brought the production of the electric Peugeot to Spain in June to assemble it at the Zaragoza plant.

elpais.com (in Spanish), tellerreport.com