Stellantis Suspends Operations At Factories In France

Stellantis will temporarily suspend operations at factories in France due to a shortage of long-range batteries for electric vehicles. The Sochaux plant in eastern France, which makes the Peugeot 3008 SUV, will be closed from October 23 to 30, while the Rennes plant, which makes the Citroën C5 Aircross, will be closed from October 22 to 30, Stellantis said.

Demand for electric vehicles with long-range batteries is still strong, especially among business users, and currently exceeds the available supply, Stellantis said.

– In this context, we are temporarily adjusting the production schedule in order to stay in line with market demand and avoid stockpiling vehicles that do not meet customer needs. It is a temporary measure.

The long-range battery shortage points to the need for automakers such as Stellantis to adjust production plans due to a surge in demand for electric vehicles caused by the US-Israel conflict with Iran, which has disrupted tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz. This has led to record petrol and diesel prices in countries like France. Shortages are particularly affecting the Citroën C5 Aircross model because the long-range version of that model is currently being introduced in several markets, Stellantis pointed out. The carmaker, which has a total of five assembly plants in France, also plans to close the Mulhouse plant during the last two weeks of October due to reduced demand for models such as the Peugeot 308.

Stellantis has been facing a long-term shortage of long-range batteries for its electric vehicles made by Automotive Cells Co. The company is owned by Stellantis, and is supported by Mercedes-Benz and TotalEnergies. ACC announced earlier this year that it had hired a team of experts from China to increase production and reduce the high scrap rate. Although he did not want to comment on the temporary work stoppages in Stellantis’ facilities, the ACC company spokesman stated that the factory is increasing production and meeting the commitments made to the client Stellantis, with the delivery of modules in quantities that meet the requirements. In recent weeks, Stellantis has been occasionally suspending work at certain plants, such as the one in Melfi in the south of Italy, due to a shortage of other components.

The company last week also announced a temporary suspension of work at the Mirafiori plant in northern Italy from October 19 to 30, citing high local energy costs and lower-than-expected demand for the Fiat 500 hybrid model, Bloomberg reports.

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