Alexandre
The Termoli plant soap opera continues. Increasingly insistent rumors suggest that Stellantis could cease production of its emblematic engine FireFly at the Termoli plant from October 1. If confirmed, this would be a further blow for the plant's employees.
An industry pillar in decline
The FireFly engine, heir to the legendary FIRE engines, has for years been one of the world's leading reliability symbol for several iconic Fiat models, such as the Fiat 500, Fiat Panda and Lancia Ypsilon. However, the global automotive industry is currently undergoing a rapid transformation with the switch to electric vehicles, and the FireFly seems to be one of the victims of this transition.
Over the past few months, the Termoli plant has already suffered several production stoppagesThe situation came to a head last July, when Stellantis announced further shutdowns. The situation reached a critical point last July, when Stellantis announced additional shutdown periods, exacerbating concerns about the plant's future. The recent announcement of a possible end of FireFly engine productionreported by Italian media outlet primonumero.it, reinforces these fears.
An uncertain future for Termoli workers
Cessation of FireFly production would have a direct impact on the 400 or so employees in the plant's 16-valve sector. According to Gianluca Falcone, secretary of Fiom Cgil, the situation is "really bad", with workers facing the prospect of reduced working hours or even indefinite lay-offs.
The end of production of this engine, once a mainstay of the Termoli plant, leaves the future of the facility in a state of great uncertainty. Although Stellantis has announced plans to transform the plant into a battery GigafactoryHowever, this project is still a long way off, and no new production line has yet been set up to replace the FireFly.
Why stop FireFly? And which FireFly?
Stellantis' decision to cease production of the FireFly at Termoli is hard to understand, especially when you consider that this engine still powers popular models such as the Fiat Panda, which continues to sell over 100,000 units a year, and whose life has been extended to 2030. However, with the end of production of models such as the Fiat 500 hybrid and Lancia Ypsilon, the need for FireFly engines has diminished considerably.
Nevertheless, between the Fiat Panda with the extended 1.0L 70 hp and the future Fiat 500 hybrid, called Fiat 500 Ibrida / Torinoplanned for 2025, to be produced at Mirafiori, with the combustion engine also to be produced at Termoli, some data is missing to know precisely which version of FireFly would be discontinued.
In the words of Fiom Cgil's secretary it could be a 16-valve engine, and therefore probably that of the Jeep Compass, Jeep Renegade, Fiat 500X and Fiat Tipo, models that are nearing the end of their careers. On the other hand, the Alfa Romeo Tonale is still equipped with 1.3L PHEV and 1.5L MHEV... to be continued!
A real mess from the outside! I hope internally eix they know at least! 🙄😂
We should rename the band "the black hole" 🙄
Grille, very good: the Panda spirit is there, and the giga dimension can be felt. All that's missing is an overall Italian look, with a touch of fantasy to eclipse the Dacia Duster.
In the end, the Marchionne years weren't so bad. While I'm pleasantly surprised by the models that are beginning to emerge from the ex-FCA part of the business, industrial management is looking more and more like improvisation. The FireFly engines could have been better exploited by the group to offer a reliable and differentiating alternative to the Italian-American brands. The operation would certainly have been less profitable, but the image gain could have been interesting. I think we've reached the end of the Tavares system and its quest for unlimited profitability. The Boeing example reminds us how dangerous it is to compress costs.
All this to put pure toch
Great Scrooge!
When you've had Fire engines like the little 1000 cm³ of the Uno 45, and you know how reliable they are, you can't help but dream of the tender policy of abandoning Fiat's know-how in motorization to put your trust in Peugeot - that's how times change.
Why stop a proven and reliable engine? Stellantis should make it standard on all its hybrids.
Doing away with FireFly engines and replacing them with PureTechs not only puts Italian factories in serious difficulty, but also replaces a reliable engine with an unreliable and uninteresting one, the PureTech.
Doesn't it occur to Stellantis that Italian car buyers are hostile to PureTech engines?
Everyone hates PureToc!
At Peugeot, there was the 2-liter 90 HP, which I had on a 307 Diesel.
Increvable, and very economical.300,000 km, Now what are they proposing to us, under the pretext of ecology...don't understand a thing!
I think Mr. Tavares should go back to the source and stop making a big company that will go under if he continues like this, or make others go under.
Probably far too reliable for the group's image!
Also ich kann das nicht mehr nachvollziehen.
Fiat baut wirklich sehr gute Motoren aber unter Stellantis werden sie [ gezwungen?] wirklich schlechte Motoren wie diesen 1.2 liter Peugeot Motor der wirklich bekannt ist für viele Probleme einzubauen!
The new puretech has dropped the "wet" distri belt and will therefore probably be more reliable. In the meantime, Peugeot's image has taken a beating... verdict on sales trends in a few months' time. As for me, the Firefly isn't exactly a benchmark in terms of reliability, although... it is, above all, in terms of fuel consumption. In itself, it wouldn't necessarily be a great loss. On the other hand, abandoning the Termoli production site and selling it off to Donfeng would be a huge mistake, and would allow a major player in the Chinese car industry to put one or both feet on European soil for once.... and in 5 years' time, everyone will be crying because Donfeng will be producing cars or batteries with no malus...but our friend Tavares will have handed over the reins and cashed a very handsome cheque for his "exemplary" management. I know I'm pushing at open doors, but we're heading for the wall, and it's not BA13 but a good big breeze block...beware of the impact.
Each brand has its own engine, and at present the PSA engine is really unreliable, even with the new timing chain, the engine has an oil pressure problem, the spark plugs break, the Fiat group has good engines, the 1399cc which is for Abarth, it's a 4-cylinder, it needs to be modified and made less polluting.
いいエンジンなんだけど、ベルト駆動なんだよね。
ツインエアとかハイブリッドエンジンはチェーン駆動なんで、
終了は致し方ない