The new factory will be Stellantis’ first South African car factory, which already builds cars in neighboring Namibia thanks to Opel. Concrete ideas about models to be built and even a location are not yet shared by Stellantis, which, in addition to Opel, also has Peugeot, Citroën and Fiat among its brands. However, an agreement has been signed with, among others, the South African Ministry of Trade and Industry. In the coming years, the factory will be built in a specially designated ‘South African Special Economic Zone’ (SEZ), although we do not yet know exactly where it is. The new factory should make a significant contribution to Stellantis’ goal of selling one million vehicles annually in southern Africa by 2030, of which 70 percent must be produced locally. The South African factory must therefore not only serve South Africa itself, but also the export market. RAM The Stellantis brands, which are popular in Europe, currently play a minor role in the South African sales rankings. According to the South African Independent Online (IOL), the new factory could well build a new, compact pick-up from Ram. Ram does not currently have such a Ford Ranger-like car in its range, but this genre is very popular worldwide. In South Africa, Stellantis could offer an attractive ‘Bakkie’, while in the US the same or similar car could compete with the Ranger, the Toyota Tacoma and the Chevrolet Colorado. It sounds far from illogical.