Stellantis has paused production of the Fiat 500e electric vehicle due to a softening of demand for EVs globally.
Automotive News Europe reports production at the Mirafiori factory in Turin, Italy will be suspended for four weeks starting today.
A lack of orders in Europe has been cited as the reason for the production halt.
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“The measure is necessary due to the current lack of orders linked to the profound difficulties experienced in the European electric [car] market by all producers, particularly the European ones,” Stellantis said in a statement.
Stellantis Australia told CarExpert that the pause in production won’t impact local supply of the 500e.
Stellantis is also facing sales concerns among its ICE nameplates, with its Jeep brand pausing production of its Wrangler and Grand Cherokee last week.
Fiat is the latest in a line of carmakers to bear the brunt of a slowdown in EV sales, which has seen various carmakers revise their EV plans, cancel investments in factories, and reduce production of battery-powered models.
In response, Stellantis is investing €100 million (A$165 million) into upgrades for the Mirafiori plant, with plans to both improve electric drive batteries and also start producing a hybrid version of the 500 from 2025.
Fiat recently axed the previous-generation, petrol-only 500 in Australia, leaving the electric 500e.
A total of 371 Fiat 500s were sold in Australia to the end of August, although that figure includes petrol variants and Abarth-branded models.
It isn’t just Europe where demand for EVs has softened in 2024.
Data released by the Electric Vehicle Council revealed that both Tesla and Polestar sales in Australia were down over the first seven months of this year compared to the same period last year.
More broadly, EV sales have continued to grow but this year hybrid and plug-in hybrid vehicle sales are growing at a far greater rate.
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MORE: Tesla, Polestar EV sales slump in July
