In the first three months of 2021, the Italian Stellantis plants produced 208.242 vehicles, 30,9% more than the 159.088 produced in 2020, when however the factories were forced to stop due to the outbreak of the pandemic and the consequent lockdown which "has had a greater influence than the decline in registrations on the Italian and European markets".
This is the photograph taken by Fim-Cisl, according to which the cars produced represent around 60% of the total production of the Italian factories, while the remaining 40% is made up of the production of commercial vehicles. As underlined by the Fim Cisl national secretary Ferdinando Uliano, the recovery in productivity was above all affected by "the positive effects determined by the new full electric 500, by the launches of the hybrids of the Jeep Compass, Renegade, Panda and by the excellent success of commercial vehicles, which account for more than a third of total production.
"It is foreseeable - continues the metalworkers' union - that the next quarters of 2021 will also be characterized by better production results than in 2020". According to the union, "however, some elements of decline can be glimpsed compared to the push of the last months of 2020, with greater requests for layoffs in all production sites with the exception of commercial vehicle production".
THE INDUSTRIAL PLAN
“We are at an advanced stage of the 5,5 billion euros of investments envisaged in FCA's industrial plan for the period 2019-2021. A large part has been completed and the last part is being completed in 2021”, observes the Fim Cisl in its report, highlighting the reassurances received from the CEO of Stellantis, Carlos Tavares, on investments.
Resources that financed not only the production of new models and new hybrid and electric vehicles, but also new transmissions and gearboxes, the production of batteries and product restyling.
“In 2021 the investments will be completed with the production launches of the electric Ducato; the restyling of the Compass, Giulia, Stelvio and Ducato; the Mhev hybrid versions of 500x, Compass, Renegade, Levante. The new production launches will be represented by the SUV Maserati Grecale (also in a hybrid version), by the Maserati Mc20 presented in Modena last September, by the Maserati GT and GC at Mirafiori and by Alfa Romeo Tonale (also in the two hybrid versions)”. summarizes the Fim Cisl.
THE ESTABLISHMENTS
As far as the individual plants are concerned, the performance of the Turin Production Center stands out, whose production volumes in the first quarter reached 18.311 vehicles from 2.325 in the same period of 2020. The increase is mainly due to the 500e, which , launched in October 2020, stood at 2021 units in the first three months of 13.002.
Speaking of the other factories, 100 cars were produced at the Maserati Modena factory, 10.566 in Cassino, 33.980 in Pomigliano (-6,18%) and 63.805 in Melfi. "In 2020, the production of Melfi alone represented half of the cars produced by FCA", said Uliano, underlining that in the first three months of 2021 the factory "increased its production by 29% compared to 2020".
With reference to commercial vehicles, 81.480 units were produced in the Sevel-Atessa hub.
THE INTEGRATION FUND
The new Stellantis group "must be strategic for Italian employment and factories, we are against any downsizing process," said Uliano. “In the first three months there are decreases in volumes with the request for layoffs in all plants except Sevel”, he continued, recalling that a meeting with the top management of Stellantis Europe Enlarged is scheduled for 15 April at Mirafiori, “an important appointment to verify the situation in all the group's plants”. Uliano explained that the union has “welcomed the birth of Stellantis, because it represents a great opportunity for the overall stability of the Italian factories, their future prospects, above all for the safety of employment”. In this new corporate reality "there must be synergies, advantages on platforms and models to face these changes positively without endangering employment". The top management of Stellantis "estimated these advantages at around 5 billion euros, like FIm-Cisl, we also reiterated in the meeting with the CEO Carlos Tavares that these resources, together with others that the new group can find more easily, must be reinvested in the future industrial plan to make it even stronger and more strategic".
