Stellantis halts production at plants in France and Italy
Stellantis has announced a temporary suspension of production at its plants in Poissy near Paris and Pomigliano near Naples, Reuters reported. The decision is driven by weak demand in the European market and the need to adjust production capacity.
The company stated that at the Pomigliano plant, Fiat Panda production will be halted from September 29 to October 6, and Alfa Romeo Tonale production from September 29 to October 10. The pause will affect approximately 3,800 employees, who will be placed on temporary leave.
Simultaneously, Stellantis confirmed that production at the Poissy plant will be suspended from October 13 to 31. The facility, which employs around 2,000 people, assembles the DS3 and Opel Mokka models. The company said the downtime will be used for inventory management, modernization work, and staff training.
The decision to reduce production reflects the challenging conditions in the European automotive market. New car registrations in the region from January to July remained roughly at last year’s level, at around 7.9 million units. During the same period, sales of Stellantis brands fell by 8%, to 1.19 million vehicles.
The company also pointed to additional factors affecting the production cuts. For the Alfa Romeo Tonale, US tariffs are a significant issue, impacting sales in this key market. The suspension of Fiat Panda production is attributed to a decline in fleet and rental company orders toward the end of the year, as well as the need to optimize plant operations.
In its statement, Stellantis emphasized that the production halt is temporary and reflects a “cautious and responsible approach” in challenging market conditions.
