The Italian unions have confirmed that the Stellantis group will assign the production of five new models to the Melfi plant, which will be gradually introduced between 2024 and 2026. All of them will be based on the new STLA Medium modular platform, recently launched by the Peugeot E-3008.
This will mean the discontinuation of the current FIAT 500X (whose replacement, the 600, is made in Poland) and Jeep Renegade. It is still not clear what will happen with the latter, although everything seems to indicate that its next generation will be launched in 2026 on the STLA Small platform; Therefore, it is most likely that a Spanish plant will be responsible for its production.
Melfi will assemble the new DS 7 and DS 9, Jeep Compass, Lancia Gamma, and Opel Insignia. Everything indicates that the latter will not retain its current name, recovering the classic name Monza, used from 1978 to 1986 to name a large coupe derived from the Senator. Since the new model will be manufactured in Italy, this nomenclature will fit perfectly.
The DS 7, Jeep Compass, and Lancia Gamma will share development. They will be three SUVs approximately 4.60 meters long situated between the C (compact) and D (medium) segments, an approach similar to that of the Volkswagen Group’s quadruplets (Audi Q4 e-tron, CUPRA Tavascan, Skoda Enyaq and Volkswagen ID.4/ID.5).
The Opel Insignia will transform into the Opel Monza, a large crossover brother of the next DS 9
The DS 9 will say goodbye to its current sedan body, becoming a crossover. It will be the twin brother of the aforementioned Opel Monza, which will also abandon the sedan format of the Insignia. Both will be around 4.80/4.90 meters long, placing themselves one step above the Compass, DS 7, and Gamma.
Initially, the Jeep will be marketed in thermal and electric versions, while its DS and Lancia derivatives will be sold exclusively with the second option. It is still not clear what mechanical offer the DS 9 and Opel Monza will have, although it would not be ruled out that they would also completely abandon internal combustion engines.
The Italian government is trying to persuade Stellantis to increase the domestic production rate to 1 million vehicles annually, up from less than 700,000 last year. The Melfi plant will play a key role in these plans, as its output fell from a maximum of 393,000 units in 2015 to just 163,646 units in 2021.
