Stellantis has closed the historic 1.2L Puretech plant, but has already relocated production to these 2 plants

On October 30, 2026, Stellantis has permanently closed its historic plant in Douvrin, in France. After 57 years in operation and more than 52 million engines produced, the industrial site has turned a major page in its history. The plant was particularly known for manufacturing the famous 1.2L PureTech engine, whose reliability issues affected millions of drivers. But while Douvrin has closed its doors, Stellantis has not discontinued its three-cylinder gasoline engine. Production of the engine has already been moved to two other countries: Hungary and Morocco.

In Hungary, a factory that already produces millions of engines

Stellantis has set up production of its 1.2L EB2 engine in Szentgotthárd, Hungary. This manufacturing facility, which also produces the 1.6L EP6 engine, has become one of the group’s strategic centers for European gasoline engines.

And the numbers are impressive. In December 2025, the plant announced that it had surpassed the 2 million engines produced since January 2020, in less than six years. Its engines are shipped to 13 Stellantis plants, where they are installed in various models produced by the group, including those from Peugeot, Citroën, Opel, Fiat, and Alfa Romeo.

The plant has an announced production capacity of 460,000 three-cylinder engines per year. Since July 2024, it has also been producing the 1.6L engine for plug-in hybrid vehicles, with an annual production target of 220,000 units. But Hungary is not the only country to have taken over production of the three-cylinder engine that was previously manufactured in France.

In Morocco, Stellantis has expanded its production capacity

Thousands of kilometers away from Douvrin, the Stellantis plant in Kenitra, Morocco, is now playing an increasingly important role. In July 2025, the group inaugurated a major expansion of this site, accompanied by a particularly interesting announcement: Annual engine production capacity increased from 100,000 to 350,000 units.

Since May 2025, Kenitra has been assembling a new generation of the 1.2L EB2 engine. And Stellantis doesn’t plan to stop there. The group also announced the launch of machining operations in November 2026 to strengthen the site’s industrial integration. With this expansion, Morocco becomes Stellantis’ second major production center for the three-cylinder gasoline engine, alongside Hungary. And that’s good news for the new Fiat Grizzly, which is equipped with this engine and produced at the same plant.

The PureTech has changed its name, but it hasn't completely disappeared

This industrial reorganization comes as Stellantis seeks to put the PureTech's reliability issues behind it. On October 19, 2026, just eleven days before the closure of Douvrin, its CEO, Antonio Filosa, publicly apologized to the affected customers.

However, it is important to distinguish the earlier generations of the PureTech—which are particularly known for their timing belt issues—from the third generation of the EB2 engine, which has undergone significant technical improvements, including the adoption of a timing chain on the hybrid versions.

The closure of the Douvrin plant does not, therefore, mean the end of the 1.2L engine, but rather the end of its production at this French facility. With Hungary and Morocco, Stellantis maintains two major manufacturing facilities to continue producing its three-cylinder engine, which is still used today in many European models.