Two years after the government and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) signed a joint investment agreement worth €190 million, everything is ready for the manufacture of the new model at the Kragujevac plant, the promotion ceremony was told. It was attended by Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares and Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic.

The Italian company FCA, which formed the multinational automobile giant Stellantis with the French group Peugeot-Citroen, has invested €142 million in the new project in Kragujevac, and the Serbian government will subsidise it with the remaining €48 million.

It was previously announced that, in addition to the electric version of the Grande Panda, its hybrid version will also be manufactured in Kragujevac.

“This is a huge opportunity for us. We are the only ones in the region of the former Yugoslavia that have an electric car factory,” Vucic said, thanking Stellantis for choosing Serbia for their project.

Vucic expects that the manufacture of the Grande Panda will contribute 0.5% to the country's GDP growth next year.

Tavares said that Fiat is opening a new chapter in Serbia, adding that the manufacture of electric cars in Kragujevac is a milestone in its business.

The manager of the Stellantis plant in Kragujevac, Silvia Vernetti, said that the partnership with Serbia began 16 years ago with the opening of Fiat Serbia, and since 2022, more than 65,000 Fiat 500L mid-class cars have been manufactured.

The new Fiat Grande Panda electric car will have a range of 320 kilometres and will be sold for slightly less than €25,000. In Serbia, according to the media specialising in the car industry, it could cost around €18,000 thanks to the announced state subsidies.

The Grande Panda model was formally unveiled in Turin on 11 July this year.