Alexandre
The Mirafiori plant in Turin, which produces the electric Fiat 500, has announced its closed until September. This decision comes after a series of measures to reduce production, including the use of solidarity contracts for employees.
According to Corriere Torino, Stellantis, Fiat's parent company, has informed the unions that it will be using solidarity contracts, in other words short-time working, until August 4. This measure affects almost 1,200 employees working on the production of the 500th. Subsequently, the plant will close for the summer vacations until September. This decision follows similar solidarity contracts signed for a thousand Maserati workers...
Mirafiori, once a symbol of Italian car production, now finds itself in a delicate situation. Despite efforts to boost production with the new electric Fiat 500, which was aiming for 100,000 units a year, results are far from forthcoming. According to the unions, production in May was virtually nil and the outlook for the months ahead is bleak.
The unions are calling on the government to intervene. Luigi Paone of Uilm Torino stressed that "the price of the disputes between Stellantis and the government is being paid by the workers. We need to reach an agreement as soon as possible to revive the automotive industry." Rocco Cutrì, secretary of Fim Cisl Torino, added that the government must "make every effort to ensure production in Italy, and the company must show itself to be more socially responsible."
Sales figures for the electric Fiat 500 are worrying. In the first quarter of 2024, sales fell by 50 %. In April 2024, the electric Fiat 500 was still not in the top 10 of electric car sales in Europe, whereas it was in 2023. This drop in sales reflects the challenges facing the Mirafiori plant.
Stellantis managers and executives share the unions' concerns. They insist on the need to define a new mission for the Mirafiori plant. According to Fabrizio Amante and Filippo Santoiemma of AQCF-R, it is crucial to rapidly implement a new production line for a high-volume model, although this could take between 18 and 24 months. This prolonged situation of precariousness is generating considerable concern about industrial viability and employment at Mirafiori.
The closure of the Mirafiori plant until September is a direct consequence of the difficulties encountered by Stellantis and its electric Fiat 500 model. Two months ago, Stellantis announced invest 100 million euros to make the electric model more competitivewithout giving a date, and has finally confirmed a hybrid model... but not before 2026!
The Fiat 500e isn't selling enough, and Stellantis isn't doing anything about it. Lower the price, offer better range, speed up the hybrid version, but no, Stellantis isn't doing any of that.
One wonders whether Stellantis would want Italian brands and their factories to do badly.
This is proof that electric cars have reached a ceiling, and that convincing new buyers to go electric is becoming increasingly difficult.
The only way to save Mirafiori is to transform the current 500 electric into a thermo-hybrid and to continue producing electric cars in small quantities. Have the 2 gravediggers of the Italian automotive industry, Elkann and Tavares, understood this? Probably, but I doubt they intend to!
Is there a pilot in the plane?
Has a band ever been so badly managed? P-e the Fiat of the 2000s, and even then... Yes no, in fact, never seen a group so badly managed!
Stop the 23kwh 500e and continue with the 42kwh by lowering prices to the equivalent of the 23khw, the only solution to save this beautiful 500e, which could quickly boost sales and therefore jobs.