Stellantis NV, the multinational automotive manufacturing corporation, has announced temporary production halts at several of its European plants. This decision is primarily driven by a downturn in market demand for its vehicles. The affected plants include Poissy in France, and Pomigliano in Italy, with further halts announced for Mulhouse, France.
Production will be suspended in Pomigliano, Italy, from September 29 to October 6 for the Fiat Panda small car and from September 29 to October 10 for the Alfa Romeo Tonale mid-sized SUV. The Poissy plant, located near Paris, which manufactures Opel and DS cars, will also experience a shutdown from October 13 to October 31. This halt is expected to affect approximately 2,000 employees. Similarly, the Mulhouse plant in northeastern France, producing Peugeot 308, 408, and DS7 models, will temporarily cease operations from October 27 to November 2, impacting about 2,000 of its 4,700 employees.
Stellantis stated that these temporary closures, which could last up to three weeks, are a measure to align production rates with the current "difficult" European market conditions and to efficiently manage inventory levels before the year's end. The company had previously invested $118 million (€100 million) to transform its Poissy plant, aiming to keep it operational through at least the end of 2028, after which it plans to shift to other activities like auto part production and recycling. Despite this investment, the immediate challenge of weak demand necessitates these temporary production adjustments.
European car registrations were largely flat in the January-July period compared to the previous year, totaling around 7.9 million units. However, registrations for Stellantis brands specifically saw an 8% decline during the same period, falling to 1.19 million units. Orders for the Alfa Romeo Tonale were also reportedly impacted by tariffs in the U.S., a significant market for the brand, further contributing to the weak demand rationale for these production pauses.
