Betim Automotive Pole Produces Its 1,000,000th GSE Turbo Engine

Stellantis just hit a significant production milestone in South America, coming from one of the region’s most important automotive hubs: the Betim Automotive Pole in Minas Gerais, Brazil. The company has officially built its 1,000,000th Global Small Engine (GSE) Turbo engine, marking a massive achievement for a powertrain family that’s quickly become one of the pillars of Stellantis’ efficiency-focused strategy for global and emerging markets.

Although the GSE Turbo engine line only began production in 2021, it has rapidly grown into a core part of Stellantis’ portfolio in Brazil and across South America. Designed and engineered in Brazil, the GSE Turbo engines were created to deliver strong everyday performance while keeping fuel consumption and emissions low — a balance that’s extremely important in South American markets where fuel prices, regulations, and driving conditions vary widely.

Stellantis’ leadership in the region is understandably proud of the accomplishment.

“Achieving this important production milestone reinforces our inspiration to continue advancing on a journey guided by innovation, cutting-edge national engineering, high location rate, and strong regional development. Each engine that comes out of our line symbolizes Stellantis’ commitment to energy efficiency, performance, and sustainability, delivering world-class quality and sophistication to meet the expectations of our consumers,” highlights Herlander Zola, President of Stellantis for South America.

“We are immensely proud of this achievement, which is a direct reflection of the passion, dedication, and enormous competence of our team. The GSE Turbo engine family demonstrates the best we have in our manufacturing processes, driven by a spirit of innovation that ensures constant advances in productivity, efficiency, and quality,” says Glauber Fullana, Senior Vice President of Manufacturing at Stellantis for South America.

One reason this milestone matters is the scale of the Betim Automotive Pole itself. The facility houses the largest powertrain production center in all of Latin America, and it continues to grow. After a recent expansion, the site now has the capacity to produce up to 1.1 million engines per year, covering both the GSE Turbo series and the long-running Firefly engine family. This puts Betim on the same playing field as some of Stellantis’ major global manufacturing hubs.

Another key part of Betim’s success is the development of Bio-Hybrid technology, which pairs internal combustion with mild-hybrid electrification. These hybrid-flex powertrains run on gasoline, ethanol, or a combination of both — something that’s highly relevant in Brazil, where ethanol is widely available and more affordable. Bio-Hybrid systems already power several new vehicles, including the Fiat Pulse, Fiat Fastback, Peugeot 208, and Peugeot 2008, making them South America’s first hybrid-flex models. It’s no surprise that Stellantis plans to expand this technology across the region rapidly.

The Betim complex is more than just a factory — it’s one of the largest integrated automotive development centers in Brazil. It employs more than 4,000 engineers, designers, and specialists who work across the Tech Center, Safety Center, Virtual Center, and more than 60 high-tech laboratories. With nearly 50 years of operation, Betim has produced over 18 million vehicles, becoming one of Stellantis’ most important global assets.

Stellantis isn’t slowing down, either. The company plans to invest more than R$14 billion (approximately $2.7 billion USD) into the Betim Automotive Pole over the next several years as part of a massive R$32 billion (about $6.1 billion USD) investment cycle dedicated to South America. This is the most significant financial commitment ever made in the region’s automotive sector.

With such a considerable investment, Stellantis is gearing up for major advances in hybrid, flex-fuel, and electrified technologies while continuing to push toward cleaner, more efficient mobility across South America. Producing the one-millionth GSE Turbo engine isn’t the finish line — it’s just a sign of what’s coming next.