Due to the coronavirus FCA could temporarily close the Serbian plant that produces the 500L, one of the top models of the Italian-American house. This was announced by the Belgrade newspaper Today taken from Marco Bentivogli, general secretary of the Fim-Cisl.
“Confirmation arrives, from the Belgrade newspaper Danas, that we are heading towards the stop of the Serbian #Fca plant that produces the #500L due to the blockade of transport with China x #Koronavirus. If this situation continues, there will also be repercussions in Italy ”, tweeted the trade unionist.
The Serbian newspaper reports that the Kragujevac plant was closed on Thursday, 13 February. The stop could last until February 18 and beyond. The decision was determined by the lack of some components produced in China, such as plastic bumpers and CD players supplied on the 500L. The news has not yet been confirmed by the company.
On February 6, the CEO of FCA had raised the alarm on the Financial Times: “If the situation continues to worsen there could be the risk of having to shut down a plant in Europe in the next two to four weeks,” Manley said, explaining that the coronavirus has affected four of the group's suppliers and for this reason the supply of an FCA plant in Europe could be at risk. “We have identified the problem. It will take between two and four weeks to figure out if the supply for one of our factories in Europe will be disrupted,” he added. However, the CEO had not provided any information on the factory or on the country subject to the possible stop.
It should be considered that the province of Wuhan, from which the coronavirus started, is one of the most important centers in the world for production of mechanical and electronic components for the automotive sector. Although FCA is one of the EU companies least dependent on these supplies, it still has not managed to escape the backlash of an epidemic that is inflicting severe blows on global industry.
In MY BAG the FCA share lost 0,35% to 12,388 euros.
