DS Automobiles Fiat Jeep Lancia Manufacturing Stellantis

Sources Say Melfi Plant To Get New Lineup Of SUVs To Produce In 2024:

Plant To Build Jeep®, DS Automobiles, Opel, and Lancia Products...

Bili June 17, 2021

As an integral part of the Jeep® and FIAT brands, the Melfi Assembly Plant in Melfi, Italy, is the production home of the popular Jeep® Renegade and Fiat 500X (for the European and North American markets) as well as the Jeep Compass (for the European market). But now, thanks to various Italian unions associated with Stellantis, we are starting to learn new details about the future of the products to be produced at Melfi in 2024.

2020 Jeep® Compass Limited 4xe at the Melfi Assembly Plant. (Jeep).

The sources state that 4 new vehicles will replace the current trio of models at Melfi. Stellantis will start updating the Melfi facility to the former Peugeot S.A. (PSA) standards before they start producing the new models. Among the changes to the plant, will be that only one of the two current assembly lines will remain operational. The new layout should produce at least 400,000 vehicles per year, while a second assembly line will be used for battery assembly for those new electrified models.

2020 Jeep® Compass 4xe at Melfi Assembly Plant. (Jeep).

Currently, the Melfi trio of vehicles is all built upon the Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) Small Wide platform. This platform will be replaced by the recently announced STLA Medium platform. This new platform is a multi-energy platform, which means that in addition to internal combustion engine (ICE) models, these platforms can produce plug-in hybrid (PHEV) and battery-electric (BEV) vehicles.

According to our sources, of the three models currently built at Melfi, only the next-generation Jeep Compass will remain. The Compass will be joined by the next-generation Opel Grandland, the next-generation DS 7 Crossback, and an unnamed Lancia compact (C-segment) SUV.

The production switch for the next generation of vehicles should help with the Italian factory’s utilization.

2021 DS 7 Crossback Opera. (DS Automobiles).

As for the Renegade, it looks like other assembly facilities will adopt its production as it will also be updated to a new STLA platform during its next update. The Renegade is currently manufactured at two other plants aside from the Melfi facility, one in Brazil and another one in China.

2020 Jeep® Renegade Limited 4xe. (Jeep). — 2021 Jeep® Renegade Limited 4xe. (Jeep).

We should learn a little more details next month, once Stellantis released details on its electrification plan for the future.

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TripleT Jun 17, 2021 #1

Daimler vibes but lets see how it goes

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cygnus Jun 17, 2021 #2

They’re consolidating A-D segments on Opel platforms.

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Bili Jun 17, 2021 #3

@cygnus

No, nothing Ople, Peugeot SA.

But in the long run they said that STLA Small will come in 2026 and that it will be for A segment cars.
PSA CMP platform is incapable for it.

Basically they have CMP as B and budget oriented C segment.
EMP2 for C and D segments although they label some cars as E segment.
And segment coverage by platform is not something which I made up, it can be found in PSA documents.

TripleT Jun 17, 2021 #4

Hopefully it will be hybrid platform using lessons from PSA and SUSW with FCA computational development group in India. Especially so the Jeep won't be a styling exercise.

bill burke Jun 18, 2021 #5

What impressed me most is the pace of change that implements what might be called “smart” integration of corporate platforms. There should be little doubt that platform sharing will be a core element of the merger. What impresses is how decisively and again, smartly, that process is happening. This bodes well for a cohesive and clear path forward and a management team that is inclusive and sensitive to brand culture going forward. I am also encouraged by Lancia in the mix, perhaps the only brand more ignored than Chrysler. Hope springs eternal as I read my own story of hope into this announcement. Me, Mopar Willy, maybe I’m smart too, just maybe.

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