A second vehicle for the La Janais production lines, this is the announcement that the 1,800 employees of the Rennes Stellantis factory were hoping for, this Monday, November 18, on the occasion of the arrival of their big boss, Carlos Tavares. But “there will be no new model immediately”, declared the CEO during an exchange with the press, where he stressed that the teams had, in the short term, “work” ahead. they.
The factory is in fact at a key moment in its history: until now dedicated to the Peugeot 5008 (stopped last October) and the Citroën C5 Aircross (which is planned to stop this fall), it is preparing to produce, in 2025, a new generation C5 Aircross. A change which should make it possible to rehire around 250 temporary workers, whose contracts will end at the end of 2024.
Launched in the second half of the year, the future SUV will be made from the same chassis as other models in the Stellantis galaxy. So “to the extent that the C5 Aircross is based on this platform, everything is possible”, pointed out Carlos Tavares, even if “nothing is planned for the moment”.
“Discomfort zone”
Words which do not delight the unions, for whom the allocation of a second vehicle to La Janais is necessary to “saturate” its production capacities and reduce its dependence on market fluctuations. “The first vehicle certainly gives us visibility for the next four to five years, but it does not completely protect us. We remain in a zone of discomfort with a single product,” points out Laurent Valy, CFDT union representative.
Is the future of La Janais guaranteed? While congratulating the factory's transformation efforts to achieve its cost and quality objectives, Carlos Tavares was careful not to comment. “In today's world, particularly the Western world, guarantees do not exist,” underlined the man who is due to retire in January 2026 and who, at the beginning of October, did not rule out site closures. in Europe, faced with the difficulties of the new automobile market: drop in sales, decline in electric vehicles, rise of Chinese competition, etc.
We were a gray hair factory, we are more and more a white hair factory. Renewing generations is necessary to renew skills
Several engines, an asset
For the CEO of Stellantis, the activity of the Rennes factory “depends on the commercial success of the new vehicle”. A success that will be achieved if 50,000 to 80,000 units are produced each year. The future C5 Aircross has a major advantage for it: it can be available in a thermal or electric version, and especially in a hybrid engine, which is currently in high demand.
In the meantime, the unions want the group to plan for the long term. “We need to be able to hire to train, to find the skills we lose with constant departures,” warns David Ruellan of the CFTC. For CFE-CGC delegate Didier Picard, there is indeed an emergency: “We were a gray hair factory, we are more and more a white hair factory. Renewing generations is necessary to renew skills. All this takes time, Stellantis has waited long enough.”
