Stellantis again halts production of the Fiat 500e
The assembly lines at the plant will come to a complete standstill between December 2 and January 5. The production break will not only affect the Fiat 500e, but also the luxurious Maserati GranTurismo and GranCabrio models with combustion engines. A total of 13,000 people work at the site, but only production is affected, while work in the offices continues.
Stellantis said in a statement that the production break is due to the continued uncertainty in electric car sales in several European markets, which account for 97 percent of Mirafiori’s production. The company added that the electric city car segment in Europe had fallen by more than half in the first ten months of this year, compared to the same period in 2023, and that demand for luxury cars such as those made by Maserati had also fallen in some non-European countries such as China and the United States.
Stellantis’ car production in Italy slumped by 41 per cent in the first nine months of this year, causing employees to worry about their jobs. The production stop in Mirafiori is at odds with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s goal of increasing car production in Italy to one million vehicles by 2030.
Stellantis already temporarily halted production in Mirafiori on September 13, saying that “The measure is necessary due to the current lack of orders linked to the deep difficulties experienced in the European electric (car) market by all producers, particularly the European ones”. The production pause was supposed to last until October 11, but was extended until November 1. Stellantis then restarted production in Mirafiori, only to stop it again.
Stellantis is on a cost-cutting course following a slump in profits and announced plans on Tuesday to close the van plant in Luton, UK, where battery-electric vans were also to be produced from 2025.
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