2023 Fiat Strada
Fiat has announced that it will sell its Strada bakkie in Sub-Saharan Africa. However, plans for a South African launch may be many years away.
The first generation Strada was produced between 1998 and 2021, with the second-generation bakkie launching in 2020 in Brazil. Built in the South American country, the bakkie is only available in left-hand drive configuration.
It means that the following left-hand African markets will receive the new bakkie: Nigeria, Ivory Coast, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Guinea-Conakry, Madagascar, Rwanda, and Ghana.
If the Strada returns to South Africa, it might be after a near-20-year wait – if production on the current bakkie lasts as long as the first, and if production includes a right-hand drive version.
Since the new Fiat Strada was launched in mid-2020, more than 400 000 units have been sold globally.
The figures
It is not yet clear which engines will find their way to Africa, but there are three petrol engines on offer in Brazil.
The bakkie is powered by a 1.0-litre three-cylinder turbocharged engine, and two naturally aspirated ones, displacing 1.3- and 1.4-litres.
Available in single- and double cab configurations, the two Strada versions have a respective payload capacity of 720kg and 650kg.
Fiat sold the first-generation Strada in South Africa from 2004 to 2012.
Local assembly
In September of this year, Stellantis – a multinational automotive manufacturing corporation that includes Fiat – announced that it would invest R3 billion in establishing a production plant in Coega near Gqeberha in the Eastern Cape.
The manufacturing plant will be built in the South African Special Economic Zone (SEZ). The greenfield manufacturing project is planned to be completed by the end of 2025.
The first launch planned for early 2026 is a one-tonne bakkie with volumes expected to reach up to 50 000 completely knocked down (CKD’s) units annually including export, in line with the industry masterplan, known as the Automotive Production Development Program (APDP).
The plant will be predisposed in terms of space and painting to go up to 90 000 units/year.
It has since been confirmed that the Peugeot Landtrek is the bakkie in question, with 2025/2026 likely to coincide with either a facelift or an all-new model. The bakkie was launched locally in 2021.
