Stellantis, the multinational automotive manufacturer, has announced that it will invest over $140 million (€130 million) in the Eisenach Assembly Plant in Germany to produce an all-electric successor to the Opel/Vauxhall Grandland compact SUV. The new vehicle will be based on the STLA Medium platform, and production is scheduled to begin in the second half of 2024.
The Eisenach Assembly Plant currently produces the Grandland and Grandland GSe sporty AWD plug-in hybrid variant under the Opel and Vauxhall brands. Stellantis’ decision to add a battery electric vehicle (BEV) to Eisenach’s output supports Opel’s goal of having a fully electric product lineup in Europe by 2028.
The investment in Eisenach is part of Stellantis’ Dare Forward 2030 strategic plan, which aims to cut CO2 emissions in half by 2030 and achieve carbon net zero by 2038 with single-digit percentage compensation of the remaining emissions. The plan also sets out targets of 100 percent of passenger car sales in Europe and 50 percent of passenger car and light-duty truck sales in the United States to be BEVs by the end of the decade.
See also: Stellantis to Build EVs on STLA Large Platform at Cassino Plant in Italy
Stellantis is investing more than $32 billion (€30 billion) through 2025 in electrification and software. The company recently announced that it will build STLA Large-based EVs in the Cassino plant in central Italy from 2024. Last year, the automaker also said the plant in Windsor, Ontario will produce electric vehicles based on the STLA Large platform.
The Grandland successor is the latest addition to Stellantis’ expanding portfolio of electric vehicles. The first vehicle to be launched on the STLA Medium platform will be the Peugeot e-3008 later this year. The French electric crossover will reportedly offer a choice of three powertrains – including a dual-motor AWD setup – and a maximum range of 435 miles WLTP.
Stellantis Chief Manufacturing Officer Arnaud Deboeuf said, “Eisenach, our most compact plant in Germany, has demonstrated a strong drive in quality improvements. With this allocation of Stellantis’ new fully BEV platform, STLA Medium, Eisenach plant’s highly skilled workforce will continue to improve the cost and quality of the vehicles they produce to delight our customers.”
The Eisenach Assembly Plant, which opened in September 1992 with production of the Opel Astra, has built 3.7 million vehicles over its 30-year existence.
