August 11, 2025

Stellantis, one of the globe’s biggest car giants, is turning up the heat in India! After putting in a heavy ₹11,000 crore investment and selling about 7,500 cars last year, the company is all set to roll out exciting new petrol and electric SUVs soon. But here’s the twist — Stellantis is skipping the government’s new EV incentive scheme for local electric car manufacturing. Surprising, right? Shailesh Hazela, MD & CEO of Stellantis India, shared some sizzling news with The Times of India. He said the proposed India-EU Free Trade Agreement (FTA) could be a game-changer: “A trade agreement is always good for both the parties as they can leverage each other’s strength… An India-EU FTA will work for both as we can export more India-made cars and also bring in some of the products from global, test the market, and then focus on localizing them if they work.” Fancy using this FTA to test-drive global models in India before locally making them? That’s exactly the plan! What’s cooking under this plan? Stellantis might introduce the electric version of its fancy C5 premium SUV through the FTA route if that deal gets the green light. Currently, the brand’s car lineup includes Citroen models like the C3, electric C3, Basalt coupe, and C5 Aircross, plus Jeep’s popular Compass, Meridian, and Grand Cherokee. Their cars roll out from plants in Tamil Nadu (Citroen) and Maharashtra (Jeep, via a Tata Motors JV). Hazela promises the spotlight will remain on “affordable premium” SUVs priced in the ₹10-25 lakh range — just where Indian buyers love to drive. “A lot many are on the drawing board as of now… But the focus will continue to be on SUVs, where the customers are,” he told TOI. And while sales volumes might be low today, he believes it’s early days for Stellantis in India’s “very complex” market. Building trust and brand love takes time, after all! Besides selling cars in India, Stellantis also uses its Indian factories to export vehicles to Indonesia, Malaysia, Egypt, South Africa, and other ASEAN countries — turning India into a manufacturing hotspot. But when asked about the new government EV policy with fresh incentives, Hazela was crystal clear: the company is “not keen to go for it.” So, the buzz is on! Stellantis wants to spice up India’s roads with new petrol and electric SUVs, eyeing global tech via the India-EU FTA, but keeping its own path when it comes to government EV schemes. Will this strategy drive them to the top? The Indian auto race just got more masaledar!

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Tags: Stellantis india, India-eu fta, Electric vehicles, Suvs, Automobile market, Car manufacturing,