Stellantis South Africa has officially opened its new head office in Midrand, the culmination of operations to complete the implementation of the new entity as a powerhouse of the motor industry.
The exciting new premises in Gauteng considers new working environments, innovation, and environmental impact while consolidating all areas of the business into one building. For the first time, Stellantis South Africa hosts all employees and the Learning Academy – both technical and non-technical – in a single, central location.
The company’s new two-story location houses the Learning Academy on the ground floor, complete with 100-seater auditorium, areas for car displays, seven training rooms and two computer labs. The curriculum for dealers encompasses over 20 courses delivered virtually and in-person as well as over 30 hours of eLearning per person that ultimately drives Stellantis’ relentless pursuit of the best possible customer experience.
The Learning Academy, as a registered skills provider, will also host programmes open to young people in the community to develop skills and ultimately provide employment opportunities for the industry. Stellantis aims to support government in helping to address the high numbers of youth unemployment in South Africa. These programmes also envisage the requirements of the new manufacturing plant being planned to assemble cars locally.
Stellantis’ so-called New Era of Agility is a global approach to new ways of working, embracing hot desking environments, remote and hybrid working, collaborative meeting spaces and work pods, and over 15 chill areas, all aimed at maximising productivity.
Another important consideration of the new head office was its environmental impact. The new premises already boasts significant reductions in carbon footprint from the previous offices and work continues towards going off the grid completely. The green concept building has borehole water back-up and solar electricity solutions, while emergency diesel generators provide operations continuity to ensure uninterrupted service to dealers and suppliers enabling them to provide the best possible customer experience.
“We are excited to be moving into our new premises and welcoming each and every visitor to our new home,” said Leslie Ramsoomar, Managing Director and CEO of Stellantis South Africa. “Since the merger and the formalisation of the Stellantis SA business entity in October last year, we now have everybody under one roof and we look forward to strengthening our company culture by providing our most important assets – our people – a real place of work that they can call also call a home.”
The move comes soon after the consolidation of distribution centres into a common warehouse in December, consolidating and centralising products and services across the Fiat, Fiat Professional, Abarth, Alfa Romeo, Citroën, Jeep, Peugeot, Opel and MOPAR brands. While all these changes have not been outwardly visible necessarily, customers will certainly have been feeling the benefits of them.
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Easy business conditions: In the World Bank’s 2017 Doing Business Report, South Africa was ranked 74 out of 190 countries. The ease of doing business not only brings investment into the country, but creates a desirable environment in starting a business. It is relatively easier to start a new venture in South Africa than other economies in the world.