While production in Italian plants continues to stall year after year and in France unions must endure the disgrace of the conversion of the Poissy hub (which will no longer assemble cars, limiting itself to refurbishing materials with a green approach), Stellantis continues to focus on North Africa.
ALL STELLANTIS INVESTMENTS IN NORTH AFRICA
According to what was communicated by the news agencies last month, Stellantis has big plans for the Algerian plant in Tafraoui, near Oran – owned by the Italian brand Fiat – aiming to increase the annual production capacity from 90,000 to 135,000 vehicles by 2028.
Since its launch in December 2023, production has already grown rapidly, rising from 17,000 units in 2024 to 53,000 in 2025. With the new strategic investment, the Italo-French Group says more than 1,000 direct and indirect jobs will be created and it will offer new opportunities to Algerian suppliers and industrial partners, strengthening local integration and the development of the national automotive industry.
According to what was previously announced, Fiat intends to market in Algeria the Fiat 500 Hybrid, Fiat 500X, Fiat Tipo, Fiat Doblò, Fiat Scudo, and Fiat Ducato: the cornerstone of the project is the Oran – Tafraoui hub, which won the production of four of the six models, starting with the 500 Hybrid and the Doblò. All through an initial investment of 200 million euros.
Last September, Stellantis Algeria presented the Grande Panda, which holds the record of being the first locally produced vehicle in CKD format (complete knock-down kit of spare parts fully disassembled and assembled on site) also at the Tafraoui plant.
Meanwhile, for some time Stellantis has been nurturing ambitious projects for Morocco as well. A few weeks ago, rumors also circulated in the specialized press reaffirming how the country is becoming a new hub for the main Italian brand, alongside or even largely replacing the plants of Eastern Europe, also through the possible realization (yet to be confirmed) right in North Africa of some of the next Stellantis cars: the futuristic Fiat Grizzly and Koala.
THE CASABLANCA CENTER
We do not know if those rumors will be confirmed in the Group’s industrial plans expected on May 21. What is certain is the launch of its first vehicle dismantling center in the MEA area in Casablanca, Morocco. The site, according to the press release, “in addition to having a local character, serves as a structural piece for circular economy activities throughout the region, as well as a reference hub to accelerate the development of a coherent and scalable ecosystem for end-of-life vehicles.”
Conceived as an industrial site, it supports the structuring of end-of-life vehicle (ELV) flows in Morocco, as well as expanding the availability of original reusable and fully functional spare parts throughout Stellantis’ after-sales network and on other digital platforms. Its main activities include sourcing and dismantling end-of-life vehicles, selling used components, and collecting parts for recycling. Casablanca is the third Stellantis dismantling center worldwide after those in Turin and São Paulo, Brazil. “In the regional roadmap – the Group’s materials further state – Morocco plays a specific role as an industrial reference point.”
WHILE STELLANTIS ACCELERATES IN NORTH AFRICA, IT STALLS IN ITALY
The news coming from North Africa clash once again with the numbers that the Italian brands of Stellantis collected during 2025: in 12 months, Fiat, Maserati, Lancia, and Alfa Romeo plants across the peninsula produced a total of 379,706 units including passenger cars and commercial vehicles, a 20% drop compared to the previous year, which was so far considered the worst in the history of the Italian automotive industry. In January, Quattroruote headlined: “Car production in Italy returns to levels of 70 years ago.” Echoing this, Il Sole24Ore wrote: “Stellantis, Italian production down 20% in 2025. Mirafiori the only growth.”
