New electric Fiat SUV to be produced at Morocco plant: Car manufacturer Stellantis will be producing its new battery-powered Fiat 600 compact SUV at its Moroccan factory, Bloomberg reports. Stellantis already produces some 50k EVs in Rabat for its subsidiaries Citroen and Opel. No details on the production start date or intended rollout were disclosed.

Stellantis’ Morocco and Poland factories are part of its bigger plans to cut its EV production costs, Bloomberg writes. The automaker is putting efforts to compete with its cheaper rivals in China, leading it to rule out EV production in high-cost countries such as France. Stellantis is also considering producing EVs in India.

Stellantis is also eyeing Egypt: Stellantis, Nissan, and Al Mansour Automotive expressed interest in investing a total of USD 145 mn in the nation’s auto industry over the next three years to produce a total of 60k-70k EVs and combustion engine vehicles every year.

Industry giants have already set up shop in Morocco: French automaker Renault will start producing EVs at its Tangier plant this year, Morocco’s Industry and Commerce Minister Ryad Mezzour said back in September. Morocco is also in talks to build an EV-battery ‘gigafactory,’ Mezzour had said, suggesting contracts should be inked by the end of 2023. Citroen also produces around 50k EV buses per year with plans to double that output in two years. The kingdom is targeting the production of around 1 mn EVs in the next three to four years.

About Stellantis: US-European car manufacturing giant Stellantis was established in 2021 as a result of a mega-merger between Italian–American conglomerate Fiat Chrysler and Peugeot’s PSA Group. The company was valued at over USD 51 bn at the time of the merger, with a huge brand portfolio including Jeep, Ram, Peugeot, and Opel to Maserati and Alfa Romeo in the luxury segment.