Stellantis India and Asia Pacific Region COO Ashwani Muppasani said aside from the IAP region, Stellantis’ two other important expanding markets are South America, and the Middle East and Africa.
“More than 25% of Stellantis’ revenue are coming from these regions,” he said in a recent media roundtable Leading the Charge in Asean: 2024 Roadmap in Kuala Lumpur.
Also present at the event were Stellantis India and Asia Pacific Region Head of Sales, Marketing and Regional Operations Billy Hayes and Stellantis Asean and General Distributors COO Daniel Gonzalez.
Stellantis is a “house of brands” and its 14 automotive marques are Peugeot, Citroen, DS, Maserati, Abarth, Alfa Romeo, Chrysler, Dodge, Fiat, Jeep, Lancia, Opel, Ram and Vauxhall.
Ashwani said Stellantis has decided to explore and expand its focus towards markets outside the traditional North American and European stronghold.
“North American and European markets are saturated. Growth is coming from the rest of the world,” he said.
(From left) Ashwani, Gonzalez and Hayes.
However, Ashwani said North America and Europe would continue to generate profit but their growth is going to be flat.
He said 35% of the world’s population are living in the IAP region, which is experiencing population growth, wealth creation and rapid industrialisation.
Ashwani said Stellantis’ IAP regional operations employ some 4,500 workers and is headquartered in Kuala Lumpur with manufacturing sites in India and Malaysia, and a joint-venture assembling partnership in Vietnam.
STLA Medium.
Stellantis also has a global hub in India for R&D, software and ICT development.
Stellantis aims to expand its Asean footprint by increasing its Malaysian manufactured line-up from three models of Peugeot 2008, 3008 and 5008 to six models from two brands by 2026.
The three models made in Stellantis’ plant in Gurun, Kedah, are mainly for the markets of Malaysia, Thailand and the Philippines.
The plant can produce 60,000 units a year on two shifts and can be ramped up to 90,000 units with a third shift introduced.
The company is also looking at the local production of five battery electric vehicle (BEV) models in the Gurun factory along with BEV battery packs for exports to Asean and India, and a 67% BEV sales mix in Asean by 2030.
2008.
Vehicles using Stellantis’ cutting-edge STLA Medium multi-energy platform will also source about 80% of their parts in Asean by 2026, enabling Malaysia to access business opportunities worth some RM5bil.
Stellantis also targets for its Malaysian operations to export 280,000 vehicles to 20 countries in the Asia-Pacific within 2025-2028 and offer regional warehousing and distribution services for 18 Asean
countries.
Ashwani said the production of eco-friendly internal combustion vehicles along with BEVs and hybrids in the Gurun plant would contribute towards Malaysia’s goals of attaining carbon neutrality.
He also said Stellantis’ ability to produce multi-energy vehicles had allowed the company to meet customer preferences that most of its competitors couldn’t.
The focus on sustainability, technology and going carbon net zero by 2038 are among Stellantis’ key ambitions.
(From left) 5008 and 3008.
On another matter, Ashwani said customers are central to Stellantis’ business.
“Everything that we do revolves around the customer.
“If a customer is taken care of, I think that’s more powerful than any marketing we do.
“His word of mouth is very important and many Asian auto manufacturers have succeeded significantly based on word of mouth.
“We want customers to be taken care of.
“We need to love the customers because word of mouth, especially in a market like Malaysia is extremely important.
“We aim to be number one in customer satisfaction,” Ashwani added.
