Stellantis plants: Spain speeds up, France slows down, Italy in the red zone

In Vigo, Galicia, the year 2025 will go down in the industrial history books. The Spanish Stellantis site is preparing to pass the 600,000 mark in vehicle production, an all-time record, at a time when the European automotive market is anything but buoyant. This figure is all the more spectacular in that it places Vigo in an almost hegemonic position within the Group. On its own, the plant will produce almost as much as all five French sites put together. More importantly, it will produce twice as much as the whole of Italy.

After a complicated first half of the year, marked by a slowdown in the German market and supply tensions, the Vigo machine got back to full speed at the end of the summer. Today, a car leaves the lines every minute. Four shifts, more than 2,000 vehicles a day - a rate that few European sites can boast. This success rests on several pillars: the commercial strength of the Peugeot 2008, sustained demand for multi-brand light commercial vehicles, and energy costs that are far more competitive than in France or Italy. Vigo is not only a high-performance plant, it has become the beating industrial heart of Stellantis in Europe.s

France slows down without collapsing

In France, the picture is very different. Less brutal, but just as revealing of a profound change. According to the unions and several internal documents, Stellantis forecasts a drop of around 11 % in French production by 2028. A gradual but very real decline.

The five main sites in France are expected to fall below the 600,000 vehicle mark within three years. Today, the Poissy plant is the focus of all concerns: slowing activity, aging models, an unclear industrial future. Even if management is at pains to reassure, the unease is palpable. This slowdown is part of a broader strategy dictated by the Group's new boss, Antonio Filosa, who has radically revised the electric vehicle trajectory inherited from the Tavares era. Priority is now given to internal combustion and hybrid powertrains, to the detriment of all-electrics. This strategic pivot stabilizes certain markets, but leaves France in an uncomfortable position: neither a disaster nor a winner.

Italy in the industrial red zone

The situation is most critical in Italy. The figures are stark. In the third quarter of 2025, production fell by more than 31 %, and the full year is expected to close at around 310,000 vehicles. Production has halved in fifteen years. Worse still, passenger car production could fall below 200,000 units.

All the major Italian plants were affected. Mirafiori is in a state of chronic underactivity, with entire days without production. Maserati lines are idling, Cassino is recording its worst year ever, Melfi has lost almost 90 % of its volumes compared with the pre-Covid era, Pomigliano now depends almost exclusively on the Panda, while Atessa is suffering from the sharp decline in SUV sales. The direct consequence is social: almost half of the group's Italian employees are now affected by short-time working or solidarity schemes. An entire industry in apnea.

Against this gloomy backdrop, Italy is not totally without prospects. Three short-term projects still hold out the hope of a rebound. In Melfi, the new Jeep Compass, also available as a hybrid, is expected to be a lever for industrial recovery. In Pomigliano d'Arco, the restyling of the Alfa Romeo Tonale is expected to boost volumes. At Mirafiori, the launch of the Fiat 500 hybrid could mark the beginning of a gradual recovery. But these projects remain modest in relation to the scale of the decline. They alone will not make up for years of disinvestment, erratic strategic decisions and lost industrial bets.

Mid-2026: the big verdict

The whole of industrial Italy is now waiting for one thing: the industrial plan promised by Antonio Filosa, scheduled for mid-2026. This will be the ultimate test of credibility for Stellantis. With the Termoli Gigafactory on hold, Maserati's future still uncertain, investments delayed and platforms postponed, the signals sent out in recent years have largely undermined the confidence of employees, subcontractors and local communities.

The gap between Spain and Italy is no longer simply a question of productivity. It has become political, strategic, almost symbolic. While Vigo is running at full speed, Italy is watching its lines at a standstill. And in the face of this fragmented automotive Europe, one thing is clear: at Stellantis, all countries are clearly no longer playing in the same league.