Just a few months ago, the Stellantis in Kragujevac, Serbia, symbolized the difficulties in launching the new Fiat Grande Panda. By the end of 2025, the Serbian site was one of the weak links in the industrial strategy of Fiat.
Today, the rhetoric has changed. According to the latest information relayed by the media and local union representatives, the plant is now running at close to maximum production levels. This increase in output is beginning to have a real impact on the Serbian economy, despite the complicated situation facing the European automotive industry.
From a pressurized plant to a near-peak site
The contrast with the situation described just a few months ago is striking. In December 2025, several reports described a plant in the throes of reorganization, unable to meet the targets set for the Fiat Grande Panda. Stellantis had to mobilize Italian employees from Pomigliano, Melfi and Mirafiori to support local production.
The tone is now much more optimistic. Ivan Ristić, president of the FCA Srbija trade union, says that demand is up sharply and production is finally keeping pace with expectations. «Daily production varies, but I can say that we are close to maximum production,» he explains, without releasing precise figures due to the confidentiality of industrial data.
This improvement is based in particular on an organization now broken down into three operational teams. And Stellantis is already preparing a new stage: the introduction of weekend shifts from June onwards, to further increase volumes.
The Fiat Grande Panda petrol dominates the channels by a wide margin
Contrary to the very electric image that Stellantis sometimes wishes to give to its new models, the industrial reality in Kragujevac shows above all the weight of combustion engines. We learn that the most popular model currently produced is the Fiat Grande Panda petrol, equipped with a 1.2-liter engine and manual gearbox. This version is particularly popular thanks to its more affordable price.
Next come hybrid versions of the Grande Panda, followed by the Citroën C3, also produced at the Serbian plant. Electric 100 % variants remain a minority in the industrial mix, even if volumes change according to market demand. This hierarchy illustrates a trend observed in several European countries: despite massive investment in electric vehicles, combustion and hybrid models continue to account for a large proportion of sales.
A plant that has become important for the Serbian economy
The ramp-up of the Kragujevac site is good news for the Serbian economy. At a time when several European automotive plants are reducing production rates or cutting jobs, Stellantis is increasing its workforce requirements.
According to union estimates, the site's total workforce should now exceed 3,500, despite high employee turnover. And with future weekend shifts, an additional 700-800 workers could be needed. These new shifts would operate on a particular model: 12-hour days on Saturdays and Sundays only, with a lower wage than that of conventional three-shift employees. A formula that the Serbian trade union openly criticizes, preferring more traditional full-time contracts.
Despite these social reservations, the site's activity directly benefits the local economy. Exports to Italy, France, Germany and other European countries are steadily increasing. All vehicles leave Serbia via the port of Bar, Montenegro, before being distributed to the various European markets. The plant doesn't just produce complete cars. It also manufactures parts for other Stellantis plants, including body components for the Citroën C3, which are sent to Slovakia.
Symbol of an industrial turnaround for Stellantis
However, this improvement comes at a particularly difficult time for Stellantis. The group is going through a period of financial turbulence after recording losses of over 22 billion euros, largely linked to its electrical strategy. Recent financial results have led to a spectacular fall in the share price.
In Serbia, the consequences were immediate: the plant's employees lost their April bonus. Stellantis' new CEO, Antonio Filosa, has himself pointed the finger at the strategic choices made by his predecessor, Carlos Tavares, who is accused of having placed too much emphasis on electric vehicles without sufficiently anticipating the real evolution of the market.
The gradual success of the Fiat Grande Panda in Serbia is taking on an important strategic dimension. After a chaotic start, the Kragujevac plant finally seems to be finding its feet. And for Stellantis, which is now seeking to regain industrial and financial stability, this ramp-up probably comes at just the right time.
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So at Stellantis when the workers work harder, they earn less, but when the executives sink the company, they walk away with bonuses in the millions. Interesting... 🤔
That's what the trade unionist regrets. It's a factory that's been struggling for 1 year with production, and now that it's running at full speed, given that Stellantis has made a loss, there's no bonus... an exception could have been made locally...
Let's hope it boosts sales in our market... This little car is really fun, much more so than the sad and ugly C3 🤷🏻♂️
That's good. There are factories in Italy and France that are under-used and threatened.
They were going to make more value-added, premium models. Clearly, the mayonnaise doesn't seem to be taking. No investment in new technologies, just outdated models.
We're not capable of the hybrid of that name.
Automakers are doing it. Toyota has managed to make a plant in France profitable, producing small models that are far more efficient full hybrids than the Stellantis micro hybrid.
Just goes to show, if you have the will, you'll find your way.