Fiat Grande Panda: Stellantis doubles the number of Italian workers sent to Serbia, but is still far from its target!

Since its commercial debut in early 2025, the Fiat Grande Panda is multiplying its positive signals... in terms of orders. On the production side, however, the reality is far more complex. Three weeks after we last reported on the dispatch of Italian employees to Serbia, Milano Finanza reveals that Stellantis has had to double its workforce in Kragujevac. This is a desperate attempt to boost production rates, which are still well below expectations.

Over 60 Italian workers on site

Remember: in mid-April, we announced that Stellantis had begun seconding Italian workers from its factories in Modena and Melfi to Serbia.to meet a local labor shortage. Initially, around thirty volunteers took part. Today, the number has doubled.

According to Milano Finanza, there are now around sixty of them, from Melfi as well as Atessa, trying to speed up production of the Fiat Grande Panda, which has been the subject of massive interest since orders opened in February (15,000 units in just a few weeks).

Despite these reinforcements, targets are far from being met. Stellantis had set a target output of 500 units per day at the end of March. In reality, we are currently at around 120 vehicles/day. This figure is up slightly (from 80 to 100 at the end of April), but is still far from the pace needed to meet European demand.

Since May 5, the Serbian plant in Kragujevac has been testing a second production shift, in the hope of soon producing 240 to 250 vehicles a day. But even if successful, this would still only represent half of the initial target.

Delivery times still critical

As a result, lead times are skyrocketing, especially for hybrid versions. According to our informationIf you place an order in April, you'll have to wait until August 2025 for an electric version (BEV), and until November 2025 for a hybrid version (MHEV).

This difference can also be explained by the shortage of eDCT gearboxes, which are essential for hybrid powertrains. And that doesn't help Fiatwhose European strategy is largely based on this model.

It's urgent for Fiat

The Grande Panda is a model like no other. Conceived as a large-scale relaunch of the Fiat brand on the continent, it combines neo-retro styling, attractive pricing and electrification. But for the promise to hold, it needs to be able to deliver quickly.

Behind the scenes, Stellantis is working against the clock. Alongside the Italian reinforcement, the group plans to launch production in South America (Brazil) and North Africa (Algeria) for local markets. But in Europe, for the time being, it's all about Kragujevac.