The Lucky Motor Corporation (LMC), manufacturer and distributor of Kia vehicles, entered into a Licence and Technical Assistance Agreement this week with the Stellantis Group to assemble and distribute one of their European brands in Pakistan.
The Stellantis Group is the world’s fourth largest car group which was recently formed and it contains a portfolio of 14 international brands.
The LMC in mid-2019 had signed an MoU and expression of interest (EoI) with Groupe PSA which is now part of the Stellantis Group. Last year before achieving the manufacturing license under the government’s new entrant policy, the LMC (then known as Kia Lucky Motors) had informed the government of its intentions to partner with Peugeot, a brand of the Stellantis Group.
Lucky Motor, Stellantis Group enter into license and Technical Assistance Agreement.
The CEO of LMC said; “We are planning to assemble vehicles of a Stellantis Group brand within the Automotive Development Policy (ADP) 2016-2021 period at our manufacturing facility in Bin Qasim Industrial Park (BQIP) where Kia vehicles are manufactured,”
The new European initiative carries an investment of €10 million, he said, without giving any hint about manufacturing of any specific models before the expiry of 2016-2021 Auto Development Policy on June 30, 2021.
“Our strategy is to leverage our state-of-the-art facility for manufacturing small volumes of niche products on the back of high volume manufacturing of the Kia brand,” he said, adding that such small volume niche products were very difficult to sustain on their own.
He furthermore added; The opportunity to partner with Stellantis, a global leader for a number of brands under its flag, is a strategic leap for Lucky Motors which could foster future partnerships with other brands of the Group such as Fiat, Chrysler, Jeep, Dodge, Citroen, Opel, Vauxhall, etc.
