Alexandre
The Termoli plant, owned by Stellantisis facing a series of production stoppages due to the declining sales of combustion-powered cars and the widespread introduction of the Puretech engine in the Group's new hybrid models. The plant, which produces the GME, GSE and V6 engines used in the Alfa Romeo Quadrifoglio and Maserati Trofeo, has already undergone several days of shutdown from July 15 to 20, then from July 21 to 27, just before closing for the summer vacations.
This situation can be explained by the drop in engine orders GME, used in the Alfa Romeo Giulia and Stelvio, as well as the Maserati Ghibli and Levante hybrids. What's more, GSE (Firefly) engines are no longer used in new models such as the Alfa Romeo Junior, Fiat 600 and Lancia Ypsilon, which now prefer the Puretech engine. The V6 engine, meanwhile, remains limited to niche models such as the Alfa Romeo Quadrifoglio and Maserati Trofeo, MC20.
However, there are still some prospects for the Termoli plant. The Alfa Romeo Tonale is equipped with a GSE engine, and the Fiat Panda is also GSE-equipped, will continue to be produced at Pomigliano d'Arco until at least 2027, or even 2030. In addition, the launch of a Fiat 500 hybrid with GSE engine is planned, but not before late 2025 or early 2026.
The Termoli plant's future lay in its transformation into a battery manufacturing facility, a project announced in March 2022. However, the this project was put on hold due to insufficient demand for electric vehicles. In the medium term, only three models - the Tonale, the Panda and the future 500 hybrid - could ensure the plant's viability, but this is still insufficient for long-term sustainability.
Gianluca Ficco, secretary of the Uilm union, said: "First of all, we have to face the challenge of integrating Fiat into a large multinational, a challenge that clearly began with the merger of Chrysler into FCA and then continued with the merger with Peugeot into Stellantis. The second transition is, of course, to electric vehicles, which will open up a real struggle for survival among traditional producers, and which particularly affects Italy, since our excellence lies largely in mechanics and certainly not in electronics".
To discuss the future of the plant and the investment for the construction of the Termoli Gigafactory by Automotive Cells Company (ACC) - a joint venture between Stellantis, Mercedes-Benz and TotalEnergies - the company has decided to invest in the Termoli Gigafactory. a meeting has been called by Minister Urso. This meeting, scheduled for August 7, 2024, will bring together the government, the unions and Stellantis to take stock of possible solutions for the Termoli plant. The resulting decisions will be crucial for the future of the plant and its employees.
May the employees at all levels of this large Termoli plant keep their hopes up! Their Italian government is negotiating with the Chinese, who are going to set up a mega-plant for Europe (to counter Stellantis, who has no vision of the markets), as they just did and inaugurated yesterday in Thailand/Malaysia! 8 million hybrid cars!!!! You'll soon have work to do! Merci Thank you merci a vous Tous!
Let this plant regain its independence. It has nothing to do and nothing to hope for by remaining in the Stellantis fold. This group has no concern for human or national interests, no passion whatsoever, only short-term profit. It's up to people and customers to make sure this group disappears from the landscape. Stellantis is not a car manufacturer, it's more like a pension fund that invests in nursing homes and funeral homes. Indeed, once the service is done, customers are ignored, and never complain.
Honestly, Mr. Tavares hasn't yet understood that the number of people interested in electric cars is very, very limited, and even more so if it weren't for state subsidies. "In my opinion, diesels are still very credible.
So dive instead into other motres as your competition is already doing. So you don't lose out on the fine European prestige brands.
like Alfa and Masarati.
This makes Italy's decision to rename the Milano as a Junior all the more preposterous, as the Italians will be losing out all the way down the line if they try to piss off Stellantis.