Car maker Stellantis that owns the Jeep and Citroën brands and bought Chrysler Corporation will invest an additional $421 million in India over the next three years. The money will fund twelve vehicles across the two brands: seven all-new models and five major upgrades.
Shailesh Hazela, chief executive and managing director of Stellantis India, told Business Standard that the first launch is scheduled for the second quarter of 2027. Hazela said the launches should triple sales to 45,000 vehicles a year within three years. The Economic Times reported that Stellantis sold 11,708 vehicles in the fiscal year ending March 2026, a market share of 0.25%.
The twelve vehicles will mostly be sport utility vehicles, along with a minivan and a premium pickup truck. Hazela said Stellantis will offer combustion, hybrid, plug-in hybrid and battery-electric versions, depending on customer demand and the economics of each product.
Both General Motors and Ford have abandoned India in recent years, while European, Japanese and Korean companies have thrived alongside Indian competition. Tesla is importing a limited amount of vehicles into India. In my view GM and Ford made a terrible mistake by not adapting to the needs of Indian consumers and will pay a hefty premium to re-enter the market at a later date.
Stellantis’ India investment plan, in dollars at current exchange rates.
Local content and exports
The investment will raise the share of locally made parts in Jeep vehicles from between 70% and 75% today to 90%, according to Hazela. Citroën already exceeds 90%. Last month Stellantis took full ownership of its plant in Tiruvallur, in southern India, which it had run as a joint venture.
Stellantis also plans to make India a larger export base. It ships Citroën vehicles to five or six countries and Jeep vehicles to three. The company will build left-hand-drive versions of its India-made vehicles, which would open more than fifty export markets. Stellantis already ships engines and transmissions from India to markets that include Europe: nearly 350,000 transmissions and 250,000 engines a year, according to the report.
“We are scaling up on the foundation we have created, starting with India and taking the same products to other markets,” Hazela said in the report.
The new money comes on top of an earlier commitment of $1.2 billion, which brings the company’s total pledge for India to nearly $1.6 billion.
Why this matters
Stellantis holds a small share of the market in India, and this plan is a bet that it can grow there while also using India to supply cars, engines and transmissions to other countries. American executives weighing India as a manufacturing base can watch how far a global automaker is willing to commit to both goals at once.
