This however means the arrival of the Stellantis STLA Medium EV platform instead of an EV Alfa Romeo.
With Stellantis making big moves in China again lately, it would only have been a matter of time before it turns its attention once again to ASEAN. And that time seems have finally arrived, as the conglomerate has just laid out its grand future electrification plans for the region.
Now starting right off the bat, Stellantis has made a big song and dance for it to be bringing its STLA Medium platform to the region. A BEV-by-design architecture that touts an impressive range of 700 km in certain configurations, this new base will make its fully-electric ASEAN appearance underpinning cars like the recently revealed Peugeot E-3008.
Contrary to its fully-electric ambitions elsewhere however, it would appear that the auto-making conglomerate is not to be implementing the same hard EV shift within the ASEAN region. Quoting directly from the horse’s mouth: The [STLA Medium] platform enables Stellantis to produce multi-energy vehicles (BEV, ICE, MHEV) in ASEAN for ASEAN which can result in local sourcing opportunities for local suppliers and manufacturers of over RM 5 billion within the next four years. It remains to be seen though what ASEAN-specific specs or even models will be arriving on the horizon.
Other parts of its grand ASEAN electrification plans meanwhile involve its recent partnership with the Indonesian government and other Indonesian stakeholders in localisation and upstream battery materials investment plan to support its electrification strategy. This partnership includes an agreement with the Indomobil Group to begin local assembly of Citroen EVs over there in 2024.
In Malaysia on the other hand, Stellantis is currently also evaluating the potential of its newly acquired Gurun plant as a regional manufacturing hub to manufacture battery electric vehicles (BEVs) for both domestic and export markets in ASEAN. Additional associated growth initiatives in the region announced by the automotive conglomerate include the establishment of a fully functional Regional Training Academy and Centre for competency-based upskilling in Product, Commercial, and After-sales services, as well as the vague notion of forging business partnerships with local companies to develop new mobility solutions and services for the ASEAN region.
“Stellantis’ ASEAN growth and expansion plans align with the company’s global commitment to achieve net carbon zero output by 2038 by reducing its environmental impact and promoting sustainability. A big part of our ASEAN plan centres around innovation that comes with the shift to electrification and technology. This will position Stellantis at the forefront of a new era of mobility solutions. The potential of EVs is immense in ASEAN and we want to lead the expansion of electrification in this region. Producing EVs here in ASEAN includes the development and engineering of vehicles tailored to the specific needs of local consumers in this region,” said Daniel Gonzalez, Chief Operating Officer for ASEAN & General Distributors at Stellantis.
