Stellantis Invests US$35 million in EV, Autonomous Driving R&D

Stellantis announced a total investment of €33 million (US$35 million) in two of its global testing facilities to support the company’s long-term strategy to achieve top-notch EV performance and advance autonomous driving technology.

“Our world-class tech hubs across the globe are doing the work today that will make tomorrow’s Stellantis vehicles industry leaders in capability, performance and safety,” said Harald Wester, Chief Engineering Officer, Stellantis.

These investments expand the automaker’s global capability to engineer “the future of mobility,” accelerating its transformation into a sustainable mobility tech company, said Stellantis. The company is working to accomplish its Dare Forward 2030 strategic plan, which promises a 50 percent reduction in carbon emissions from 2021 to 2030 and net-zero carbon emissions by 2038.

The latest enhancements are at the Orbassano Safety Center, near Turin, Italy, and Wind Hill, in Michigan, the US. The first one is fully integrated with digital engineering processes and is being upgraded to host four test tracks with four impact points and capabilities for full testing of BEVs, in addition to automated driving technology for cars, trucks and light commercial vehicles. The second one is being scaled up with the addition of moving ground plane technology to simulate on-road travel and provide more accurate measurement of vehicles.

“We are intensely working with the other global functions to energize the core of our technological transformation. It gives us a comprehensive view of the challenges and enables us to consider and refine a full menu of mobility solutions that will put us in the front row of the race to innovate and improve,” added Wester.

The Dare Forward 2030 strategic plan includes other ambitious goals, such as reaching 100 percent of car BEV sales mix in the EU and 50 percent car and light-duty truck BEV sales mix in the US by 2030.

The investment in the Orbassano Safety Center gives Stellantis the capability to test all types of electrified vehicles (MHEVs, PHEVs and BEVs), said the company. The facility currently runs a minimum of two crash tests a day and is on track to test over 275 EVs in 2022. Vehicles tested at these facilities can be certified to meet more than 175 international safety and technological standards.

Stellantis has continuously invested in BEV technology over the past months. In Oct. 2021, just after a joint venture between Stellantis and LG Energy Solution was officially announced, MBN reported that the automaker and South Korean storage battery manufacturer Samsung SDI reached an agreement to produce EV batteries to supply the North American Market.

In May 2022, Stellantis sold 5,122 total units from its different brands in Mexico. RAM was the best-sold brand, amounting to 1,587 units, followed by Jeep, which also had solid figures with 1,473 vehicles sold. Dodge sold 1,314 vehicles, Fiat sales amounted to 427 units, Peugeot registered 306 vehicles sold, Alfa Romeo 10 and Chrysler 5 units.

Stellantis Mexico is among the 25 best employers in the country, as reported by MBN. The automaker employs 15,050 in Mexico and ranked in 13th place in LinkedIn’s “Best Companies” 2022 ranking.