April 28 (SeeNews) - Multinational automotive manufacturing corporation Stellantis and Serbia signed on Thursday a deal to jointly invest 190 million euro ($199.6 million) to launch the production of electric vehicles in the country's central city of Kragujevac, president Aleksandar Vucic said.
Serbia will participate in the investment with 48 million euro, Vucic said during a press conference, as seen in a video file published on the YouTube channel of the Tanjug news agency.
You can download the 2024 Automotive industry in Southeast Europe report here
Production will begin in early 2024, Vucic added.
Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares said that the company plans to launch up to 100 new electric and hybrid models by 2030.
Previous reports suggested that Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) Serbia might produce either a hybrid-powered version of its Fiat 500L model or an electric version of its Panda SUV model in the Kragujevac plant.
The company restarted operations at its factory in Kragujevac in January after a 50-day break caused by shortage of parts. Since then, the facility has been operating at limited capacity.
A report issued earlier today by local news outlet N1 claims that the plant in Kragujevac has operated only ten days since the beginning of the year.
Stellantis was formed in 2021 following a merger between FCA and the France's PSA Group.
FCA Serbia is a joint venture between FCA, which owns 67% of its capital, and the Serbian government, which holds the remainder.
($ = 0.9518 euro)