Thousands of Stellantis Mirafiori plant workers in Turin, Italy, where the Fiat 500e and Maseratis are produced, have been on furlough since December 2023. The automotive group has now informed local unions that the plant’s production will be suspended until August.
Stellantis suspends production at Mirafiori plant until September 2024 due to Fiat 500e low demand
The reason for the production stoppage is said to be the low demand for the 500e, which has recently been launched in the United States, and Maseratis, which last week launched the new GranCabrio Folgore, the electric version of the model. This is not enough to have a full-capacity production line, so Stellantis has announced that a further 1,174 employees will be on furlough from 23 April to 4 August, when the plant will close for the summer holidays. This means that production could only resume in September, if there are no further delays.
In addition, the second reason is said to be the delay in the entry into force of state incentives for hybrid and electric cars in some European countries, including Italy.
The unions in Turin have called for urgent government intervention to resolve the issue, which has been going on for months. In recent weeks, Carlos Tavares had said he was considering moving production of the thermal 500 to the Mirafiori plant to guarantee around 175,000 units per year. However, from July 2024 this model will no longer be able to be produced due to new European regulations that require the presence of various driver assistance systems, which the thermal 500 does not have. We will see how the situation evolves in the coming weeks and how Stellantis intends to resolve this problem.