Workers at the Stellantis-owned Melfi plant in Italy should feel optimistic about the future, as the automotive giant confirmed the production of 5 new midsize models between 2024 and 2026. Those will reportedly be the next-gen Jeep Compass, the successor of the discontinued Opel Insignia, a new DS 9 flagship, the next-gen DS 7, and the Lancia Aurelia, all based on the STLA Medium platform.
According to Automotive News Europe, the FIM-Cisl, Uilm, Fismic, and Ugl unions revealed the news after a meeting with automaker’s representatives last Tuesday. Stellantis had already confirmed it will produce 5 new EVs for the Melfi plant but didn’t disclose the timing of their launch until now. The announcement is said to have “smoothed” labor relationships in Europe amidst the strikes in North America.
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The aging Jeep Renegade and Fiat 500X, which are currently produced at Melfi, will bow out sometime between 2024 and 2025, as with the second generation of the Jeep Compass that has been around largely unchanged since 2016.
The rollout of the new models will start with a DS Automobiles-branded vehicle in 2024, which will likely be a midsize fastback reportedly adopting the DS 9 moniker. Next up will be the all-new third generation of the Jeep Compass, coming in 2025 with BEV and hybrid powertrain options. In 2025 Stellantis will also reveal the successor of the DS 7, which is expected to be an EV-only affair.
In 2026, Stellantis will start production of the Opel Insignia successor, a fully electric fastback crossover borrowing elements from the recently revealed Opel Experimental concept. Finally, in the same year, Lancia will introduce the Aurelia, another flagship crossover riding on STLA Medium underpinnings. This platform was recently introduced with the new Peugeot E-3008 and will be used in an army of models coming from all Stellantis brands.
The Italian government is said to offer incentives in order to push Stellantis to produce 1 million vehicles per year in Italy, up from fewer than 700,000 units last year due to supply issues. Specifically at the Melfi plant, the production output has fallen from a peak of 393,000 units in 2015 to only 163,646 in 2021. Hopefully, this trajectory is going to change with the new additions, bringing new life to the factory floor.
