Stellantis: production falls 40 % in Italy, automotive industry in turmoil

Italian automotive production, a historic symbol of the country's know-how, is in deep crisis. Stellantis sees its production in Italy collapse by 40.7 % in 2024, plunging the sector into an alarming situation.

An unprecedented fall

According to Fim-Cisl data, Stellantis' automotive production in Italy fell from 567,525 units in 2023 to just 387,600 units in the first nine months of 2024. This decline concerns both passenger cars and commercial vehicles. Car production fell by 40.7 1TP3Q to 237,700 units, while commercial vehicles fell by 10.2 % to 149,900 units.

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Noteworthy fact, all Stellantis production sites in Italy are in the red. Even the Pomigliano d'Arco and Atessa plants, which posted positive figures at the start of the year, gave in to the general slowdown, with -5.5 % and -10.2 % respectively in the third quarter. Other sites experienced far more drastic declines, ranging from down to -75.8 % for the Modena plant. This slowdown is not anecdotal. could result in total production falling below 500,000 units by the end of the year.

A difficult market and electrical challenges

The transition to electric vehicles and the difficulties of the European automotive market exacerbate the crisis. Stellantis faces sluggish demand for electric vehiclesThe company is counting on this transition to secure its future. The emblematic Mirafiori site in Turin, which produces the electric Fiat 500e, saw production plummet by 68 %illustrating the difficulties of the electric vehicle market.

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This decline comes at a time when Stellantis and the Italian government had set themselves the ambitious target of producing a million vehicles a year by 2030. With results so poor, this target seems out of reach, barring a spectacular turnaround.

A storm hits Europe

Stellantis' problems in Italy are not isolated. The entire European automotive industry is suffering from a crisis of overcapacity. Competition from Asia, combined with the challenges of ecological transition and high production costs, is weakening traditional automakers. In Germany, Volkswagen has announced the closure of a number of plants, an unprecedented event in the group's history.

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Social and political consequences

Faced with this situation, the Italian trade unions, represented by Fim-Cisl, are taking action. They have announced a nationwide strike across the automotive sector on October 18 to protest against the drop in production and the risks to jobs. The Termoli site, destined to become a gigafactory for battery production, is also on hold. The investment, initially planned, has been suspended, raising the spectre of thousands of redundancies in an already economically fragile region.

Carlos Tavares, CEO of Stellantis, has to explain himself to the Italian Parliament. He is under pressure as the Group's financial results are in decline. The social and economic climate is becoming increasingly tense, and the strategic decisions to come will determine the future of the automotive industry in Italy.

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Stellantis has announced that it intends to pursue its "Dare Forward" plan, aimed at eliminating internal combustion engines by 2030. the reality on the ground seems far more complex. The pressure is mounting on Italy, which must imperatively reinventing its industrial model to avoid an even greater collapse of its automotive industry.

13 Comments

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  1. All those who supported Tavares' ultra-short-termist policy are guilty of complicity in this situation.

    Promoting a Milano uh Junior produced in Poland is a case in point.

  2. Although other major car brands such as Volkswagen are also experiencing significant declines, Stellantis' Italian brands are still witnessing the results of Tavares' mistakes: everything for electric cars, which are selling less and less, not enough hybrid models, and Fiat, Alfa Romeo, Lancia and Abarth losing their Italian identity, turning them into Peugeot derivatives. Tavares and Stellantis are very harmful to Italian brands, it's a sad fact.

  3. Ah yes, it's worrying... Sochaux and Mulhouse alone produce almost as much as all the Stellantis factories in Italy put together (excluding LCVs)....

  4. The problem is the solvency of European customers, and the only solution is to offer less expensive models. For Maserati, on the other hand, it's a real problem of positioning, since potential customers have never been so numerous.

  5. With 2 combustion engines in the catalog, a fake petrol and a cardboard diesel, it's no wonder they don't sell. For electric cars, it's even worse. We're literally being lied to about range, the cost of recharging, the durability of batteries, and the residual value of EVs... Avoid.
    Why is it that Toyota is swamped with orders, and European automakers are floundering?

  6. Give me an argument that will make me buy an EV. I live in an apartment, my car sleeps in the street and I have no garage, and no way of recharging it at home, like many of my urban compatriots.
    I drive a Dacia Sandero Diesel out of necessity, and I hope to keep it until I retire. Given that the new ones have a penalty, I don't feel like changing.

  7. You can't encourage people to spend 2 years of their salary on a V.E. car or a low-rated thermal car, and at the same time freeze salaries or pensions that are abnormally low, while causing incompressible expenses to soar. (Charges, taxes, water, electricity, insurance, health, energy, rent...)
    A little common sense would be welcome.

  8. Stellantis, build sober, robust, minimalist cars at €15,000 max, and you'll be selling them by the bucketful. Ask Toyota to build it for you.
    You'll make your margin by leasing it. It's a no-brainer.

  9. The more you tax, the less you tax, because people react by shifting their spending elsewhere, or even stop spending at all.

  10. エコファシストが今日の状況を招いた。電気自動車はクソだ。エンジンのないアルファロメオやフィアットに乗りたい人間なんか頭のおかしいエコファシストくらいだろう。シロクマを救う前にスティランティスを救うべきだ。

  11. Alfa's are too expensive and there's almost nothing left in the fiat catalogue.... (600 and 500 c all) and at prices too high...

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