Alexandre
The Termoli engine plant, owned by Stellantis, is facing new turbulence. After a series of production stoppages over the summer, and then in SeptemberStellantis has just announced a further two weeks of downtime at its Italian plant. These stoppages add to a production crisis that is dragging on, and suggest an uncertain future for this historic facility.
An unprecedented production crisis
Just a month ago, we reported that the Termoli plant was going through a difficult period. Specialized in the manufacture of GME combustion enginesThe plant is suffering from the automotive industry's rapid transition to electric vehicles, with the production of the Alfa Romeo Giulia, Stelvio, Maserati Ghibli and Levante hybrids. The GSE engine (Firefly)The Puretech engine, which now powers most of the Group's new hybrid models, has also been dropped. As for the V6, it is reserved for niche models such as Alfa Romeo Quadrifoglio and Maserati Trofeo, whose production is insufficient to ensure the plant's viability.
These production interruptions come at a time of great uncertainty. The plant has already suffered several shutdowns this summer, and the trend does not seem to be reversing. The project to convert Termoli into a Gigafactory, announced in 2022 by Automotive Cells Company (ACC), a partnership between Stellantis, Mercedes-Benz and TotalEnergies, has not progressed as quickly as expected. The slowdown in demand for electric vehicles put the project on hold, plunging the plant into a precarious situation.
A gloomy outlook for Termoli
The lower orders for internal combustion engines has intensified with the recent announcements by Maserati and Alfa Romeo to switch to all-electric models by 2027-2028. These decisions put a definitive end to the use of V6, GME combustion engines. The Fiat range remains one of the few hopes for Termoli, with a future Fiat 500 hybrid planned for 2025-2026but this seems insufficient to compensate for the drastic drop in activity.
What's more, the meeting scheduled last August between Stellantis, Minister Adolfo Urso and the unions failed to produce any concrete solutions for the future of the plant, and worse still, the Italian government has announced the withdrawal of public funds for the plant. ACC's full industrial strategy will not be unveiled until the end of the year or early 2025, but in the meantime, Termoli employees are facing repeated interruptions and an uncertain future.
New stoppages and union mobilizations
As if that weren't enough, a new shutdown period has been confirmed. According to local media Termolionline, another production shutdown is scheduled from October 21 to November 3, 2024affecting the FIRE, GSE, T4 and V6 engine departments. The shutdown coincides with a nationwide mobilization of Italian metalworkers, marked by an eight-hour strike on October 18.
Termoli, once a symbol of the Italian automotive industry, has become a striking example of the challenges associated with the energy transition. If the Gigafactory conversion goes ahead, it could offer a chance to revitalize local industry. For the time being, however, the unions are calling for a massive mobilization to underline the importance of the metal industry and preserve jobs.
Further proof that the PureTech engine now chosen for Italian brands over the FireFly is a scandal.
Tavares' policy is to kill everything Italian!
As for Alfa Romeo and Maserati going all-electric, that's just honking their horns.
Elkann lets it happen...
TAVARÉS, who once again is absolutely not the boss since the boss is Agnelli, Tavares is simply trying to minimize costs as much as possible to the detriment of research. For my part, the fact that we now see a Fiat on a 208 platform with a pure Tech engine removes all interest in continuing with this brand and rather than face the problems of robustness and quality of Peugeot and others, I'm going to do what a lot of people who don't want any more hassle, I'm going to Toyota!
but I'm looking forward to seeing the Epsilon fail and Alfa-Romeo collapse thanks to Tavaressian policies.
Non abbandoniamo i buoni motori firefly t3 e t4 , gli automobilisti italiani abbandoneranno Stellantis, cosi come alfaromeo made in poland. marius
No, he's not letting it happen, he's pushing Tavares to take his pension and I think he's behind the new link-up between Alfa and Maserati.
Yes, it's hard to believe that Elkann has no ties to the Italian automotive industry, like the Lagardère son with Matra automobile 😡
I think the Italian government is beginning to realize that stelantise is killing the Italian car industry.
And we're starting to turn to Chinese brands that want to establish themselves in Italy.
This is the reality of our industrial and political leaders.
Make as much money as possible at the expense of the European population
Italian engines are being sunk and replaced by engines that will take them all to court.