In its current guise, the Strada won't be made with left-hand-drive, but the next generation will become a world model once again. Image: Stellantis
Stellantis South Africa has officially confirmed that while it will be bringing the Fiat Strada to markets in Sub-Sahara Africa from this month, South Africa won’t see a return as a result of production being restricted to left-hand-drive.
In a follow-up statement to the Brazilian-made Strada’s confirmation for the Middle East and African markets on Tuesday evening, Stellantis indicated that Cameroon, Cape Verde, Ghana, Guinea-Conakry, the Ivory Coast, Madagascar, Nigeria and Rwanda will be the sole African countries to receive the Strada from now and into 2024.
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Omitted from all Southern African Development Community (SADC) countries as a result of the position of the steering gear, Stellantis South Africa told The Citizen that while this prohibits the Strada from being sold locally, “the next generation will be available in right-hand-drive” thus making it a surely candidate for returning after being withdrawn due to falling sales in 2012.
Officially confirming the next generation Strada as a world model, which the original, introduced in 1998, was billed as along with the model it shared its platform with, the Palio, the announcement opens the door for Fiat to produce it on local soil at its plant in the Coega Special Economic Zone in the Eastern Cape from 2026.
A facility, though rumoured to produce the Peugeot Landtrek in complete knockdown (CKD) form, the Stellantis has remained mum on revealing the identity of the bakkie it will be producing at the plant outside Gqeberha, formerly Port Elizabeth, as part of a record R3 billion investment from the said year.
Originally powered by a normally aspirated 1.2-litre engine, a free-breathing 1.6 and a low pressure 1.7-litre turbodiesel upon its market debut in 2005, the Strada accounted for a smaller number of sales behind the segment-leading Opel/Chevrolet Corsa Utility and later Nissan NP200, before a facelift saw all of the engines make way for a single 1.4-litre petrol unit.
Available as either a single cab or a cab-and-a-half model called the X-Space Adventure, but solely in the former at the time of its departure, the current second generation, which has amassed total sales of 400 000 units since going on-sale in Brazil three years ago, offers a choice of single and double cab bodystyles and two Firefly petrol/ethanol engines displacing 1.3 and 1.0-litres, the latter supplemented by a turbocharger.
For now, Stellantis South Africa is unlikely to state definitively which bakkie it will be manufacturing this year, however, don’t be surprised if more details emerge in 2024.
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