Auto company Stellantis, whose brands include Jeep, Peugeot, and Fiat, plans to pause production at several European factories due to slowing sales, the company announced on Wednesday.
The company said it would likely halt production next week at its Eisenach facility in Germany for two days ahead of a national holiday.
Stellantis said the move aims “to adapt the pace of production to a difficult European market, while managing stocks in the most efficient manner before the end of the year”.
The Eisenach factory, which makes the Opel Grandland SUV, is one of five European facilities Stellantis plans to temporarily halt production at, the company said, confirming a report in the French business daily Les Echos.
New car registrations fell 0.7% in the EU in the first seven months of this year, according to data from the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association, but production remains considerably below pre-pandemic levels.
The company also plans to close its Tychy factory in Poland for eight days, and temporarily halt production of the Fiat Panda and Alfa Romeo Tonale at its facility outside Naples.
In France, its factory outside of Paris will close for the second half of October.
Unions are concerned that the world’s fourth-largest car company will close other factories in Europe under pressure from US tariffs and aggressive competition from China.
Stellantis is not the only European automaker facing difficulties: on Friday, Volkswagen, the crisis-hit flagship of the German auto industry, lowered its forecasts for 2025, as it prepares to cut 35,000 jobs in Germany.
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