. In the past two days, a delegation of officials and representatives from Stellantis Group in Algeria and the North Africa and Middle East region visited the headquarters of the Algerian Ministry of Industry and met with the Minister of Industry, Mr. Saifi Gharib.
It seems that the meeting is related to the launch of a new model at the Fiat factory in Oran. There have been reports about launching the Fiat Grande Panda model in the coming months, especially after the statement from Mr. Samir Sharafan, a representative of Stellantis Group in North Africa and the Middle East, who said in a media statement that the Fiat factory in Oran is studying the possibility of producing models other than Fiat models, adding that the factory is considering producing other models suitable for families.
Since the statement by Mr. Rawy Baji, the general manager of Fiat Algeria, about adding a fourth model to the assembly line in Oran starting from December 2025, many analyses have spread regarding the identity of this model, but there were strong indications that the Grande Panda model is the intended one, especially after Mr. Samir Sharafan’s comments.
The new model, which is considered the fourth model to be assembled at the Oran factory, will be assembled in the new expansion of the Fiat factory in Algeria, which is currently under construction as part of Fiat’s industrial expansion plan in Algeria.
Some Italian press reports indicated the possibility of assembling the Grande Panda or Big Panda model at the Oran factory, equipping the car with a mild hybrid engine, using an upgraded version of the 1.2-liter PureTech engine, which has been updated and renamed to T-GEN 3 1.2 HYBRID TURBO.
This decision may disappoint some Algerian consumers who were hoping for the adoption of the 1.3-liter Firefly engine, used in Brazilian Fiat models, which many consider to be more suitable and reliable for Algerian road conditions and local fuel quality.
However, the combination of this engine and the Stellantis smart vehicle platform grants Fiat Algeria several strategic advantages, including the ability to assemble other models belonging to different brands within the Stellantis group, such as the recently unveiled Opel Frontera.
Assembling a fourth model at the Fiat factory is beneficial, especially by diversifying the offerings and options for Algerian consumers, but it is not known whether the factory will increase its production capacity or just diversify the product, as the local car market needs a variety of products and larger quantities of new cars.
