Alexandre
Always at the heart of Italian automotive news, the current situation at Stellantis' Mirafiori plant in Turin is capturing attention and still causing concern. According to the latest analysis by Fim Cisl, an Italian trade union, production at this plant has fallen alarmingly, marking a down 51% on the previous year. This decline would have led to the production of only 12,000 vehicles in the first quarter of 2024a drastic drop compared to the 25,900 units produced over the same period in 2023.
This slowdown is all the more striking when one considers that the Mirafiori plant recorded the most significant reduction in production of all Stellantis' Italian sites, with the Group seeing an average deceleration in automotive production in Italy of 9.8 %. Production at the electric Fiat 500 accounts for 90 % of factory volumeswith 11,360 units, the remainder being attributed to the manufacture of Maserati models, which, with just 1,320 units.
Faced with this precarious situation Fim Cisl stresses the urgent need to diversify production of the plant by introducing new high-volume vehicle models, not just niche models. This strategy is crucial to ensure Mirafiori's future as a key automotive production facility. With this in mind, a day of mobilization, including strikes and demonstrations, is scheduled for April 12 in Turin.
At a recent government meeting on the automotive industry, Stellantis managers reaffirm the strategic importance of the Mirafiori plant. However, despite this recognition, no new car models are currently scheduled to be allocated for manufacture in Turin. Stellantis told the meeting that she was "studying a mechanism that would make the 500 electric cheaper, so that we can also produce more of them".
The only hope remains the introduction of a thermal hybrid version to complement the electric version of the 500. A soap opera that is not yet over...
We're getting proof that models that go all-electric aren't selling enough. And yet the Fiat 500e is very good, albeit too expensive for a city car.
Without hybrid models, brands like Fiat, Abarth, Lancia and Alfa Romeo are heading for failure, with factories unable to operate. It's time for Stellantis to reverse course on all-electricity, and very quickly if they want to avoid an industrial disaster.
Scrooge should raise the price of the electric 500 again, a winning strategy... or not.
I don't understand Stellantis's suicidal strategy! Electric cars only sell when they're subsidized, but Italy, for example, has not introduced any incentives for electric cars, so why continue down this path? It's not working with Maserati, Fiat and Lancia, so why are they continuing and why this early marginalization of combustion engines?
Deliberate strategy or shoddy marketing, I don't know!
It will be interesting to see the proportions of sales between internal combustion and electric for the 600 and Ypsilon. We'll know soon enough, since these models are already on sale in Italy. But in any case, the new 500e should have been available as a combustion model from the start, as it would have been a big hit compared to the aging 500 of 2017.
Yes, finally, the new Lancia Ypsilon with the 100 hp PureTech engine, I don't see who could want it with this engine?
If I had to choose, I'd still prefer the 156 hp electric motor, even if I don't know where to charge it.
Incomprehensible policy in all areas, and unfortunately not just today. Alfa Romeo's range now consists of a large sedan and 3 SUVs. What about the Giulietta, an intermediate model instead of yet another monster on wheels that has little to do with the Alpha aesthetic? I don't think I'll be able to buy my 7th Alpha...