Vucic: Kragujevac plant joint success of Serbia, Stellantis

KRAGUJEVAC - At a ceremony that marked the start of trial production of Fiat's new electric car, the Grande Panda, at the Stellantis plant in Kragujevac, central Serbia, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said Monday was a great day for Serbia as the modernised plant symbolised a joint success of Serbia and Stellantis and a fight for accelerated progress.

"Today is a great day for us and our country and I wanted to read a good speech, but (Stellantis CEO Carlos) Tavares made me try to say how I feel about this factory and our country. What I heard from Silvia (Vernetti, head of Global Corporate Planning at Stellantis) and Carlos was the best thing I have been able to hear in the past several years because it was more about the future compared to what I have been able to hear from politicians worldwide," Vucic said at the ceremony, which saw the launch of new production lines for the Grande Panda.

He said those in attendance had had an opportunity to hear people who had demonstrated a desire and a passion to fight for the success of their company and accelerated progress while understanding that they themselves needed to change, too, in order to keep winning.

He said strikes and difficult talks with workers had taken place at the Kragujevac plant in the past years.

"But I knew that, as I was trying to bolster their faith in Fiat and Stellantis, I was also bolstering their faith in the future and prosperity of our country," Vucic said.

Vernetti said trial production of the Grande Panda would be a turning point in the successful history in Stellantis's operations in Serbia.

Tavares said his company had delivered on a promise made two years ago and that the production of the Grande Panda would continue to write a new chapter for Fiat in Serbia.