Production of the electric Fiat 500 suspended again due to lack of demand

Electric models that are struggling to find buyers. Production of the Fiat 500 in electric version and Maserati models at the Mirafiori factory, near Turin, will be suspended again from December 2 to 17 due to the drop in sales, the car manufacturer Stellantis announced on Wednesday. This decision is due to “continuing uncertainty regarding electric vehicle sales in several European markets” and luxury cars, particularly in China and the United States, indicates Stellantis Italy in a note. This suspension will be followed by the collective closure of the factory from December 18 to January 5 as part of the end-of-year holidays, the result of a company agreement.

Electric cars represent 97% of production at Mirafiori, where the Maserati GranTurismo and Maserati GranCabrio are also manufactured. The suspension of production only concerns the body shops and their 1,800 employees and not the rest of the Mirafiori complex, which has five factories and administrative offices with a total of 13,000 employees, specifies the manufacturer.

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Sales of electric city cars in Europe fell by 54% during the first ten months of the year, notes Stellantis. In addition, electric vehicles only represent 4% of sector sales in Italy. “This is not enough to maintain continuity of production”argues Stellantis.

The announcement of this new suspension of production comes against a backdrop of controversy with the government of Giorgia Meloni, which accuses the manufacturer of relocating its production to low-cost countries, to the detriment of Italian factories. Mirafiori employees have suffered periods of technical unemployment this year due to a drop in demand. Stellantis, however, undertakes to “guarantee the continuity of all its factories and activities” in Italy in “this crucial phase of the transition” towards “the adoption of new technological platforms”.