Stellantis to suspend production of the Fiat Panda

Other models are affected, and a strike by workers will follow this Friday.

By: Eleonora Lilli

Oct 18, 2024 at 3:35am ET

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Car production at Stellantis in Italy is about to come to a halt. Following the prolonged suspension of assembly of the 500th model at Mirafiori, the Group has announced further stoppages at other plants, including Pomigliano D'Arco, Termoli and Pratola Serra.

The measures are necessary "to adapt production to current market conditions and ensure efficient management of resources", reads the official press release.

Meanwhile, in Rome, many people are preparing for the demonstration linked to the strike on Friday 18 October. Twenty buses, with over a thousand people on board, have left from Potenza and the Vulture Melfese.

From the Italian Parliament to the Paris Motor Show

The subject of 'production' in Italy is as hot and sensitive as ever. In an international context where the Volkswagen Group has announced the closure of certain plants in Germany and China (while still looking for a buyer for the Audi plant in Belgium) and where more and more car manufacturers (Chinese, in fact) are looking for places to produce cars in Europe, Stellantis' Italian plants are not in the best of shape.

Tavares reported to Parliament on 11 October. The CEO of Stellantis asked politicians for more incentives and stability to proceed with the energy transition and then, at the Paris Motor Show, he declared that he wanted to increase production to 100,000 cars a year and that decisions on the future of the brands will be taken within 2-3 years.

Meanwhile, the figures speak for themselves: car sales in the first quarter of were down 20% on the same period in 2023, and in North America deliveries were down 36%; reasons why the company's senior management has recently changed.

Carlos Tavares at the inauguration of the new "Pro One" offices in Mirafiori

Friday 18 October is synonymous with strike action

In the face of the production stoppage, the unions are taking action with a strike to be held today, Friday 18 October. The procession will set off from Piazza Barberini at 9.30am, where Fim Fiom Uilm general secretaries Ferdinando Uliano, Michele De Palma and Rocco Palombella will hold a press briefing and arrive in Piazza del Popolo, where there will be speeches by delegates and general secretaries.

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The slogan chosen by Fim Fiom and Uilm for the event is: "Let's change gear: let's accelerate towards a fairer future".

Inside the Pomigliano d'Arco factory

Elkann's words to managers

On Thursday, to mark the 50th anniversary of the Fiat management group, the chairman of Stellantis, John Elkann, gave a speech in which he encouraged managers to always have "the courage to face difficult challenges, without ever giving up".

"With instrumental controversies, resentments, protagonists, nothing gets solved", he said. "Nothing is built. There are those who, in recent months, these days, seem reluctant to recognise the merits of all those - employees, collaborators and managers - who have always contributed to meeting the challenges and achieving extraordinary results over the course of our Group's 125-year history .

But we know what the reality is. We intend to solve the problems by working seriously, in collaboration with our collaborators and relying on the fundamental elements of the "Fiat spirit": the courage to overcome difficulties, the ingenuity to build the future and the sense of responsibility towards the communities in which we are now linked".