Stellantis boosts output of gearboxes for hybrid cars as EV sales slow down

Stellantis NV plans to bolster production of transmission systems for hybrid vehicles as weaker demand for fully electric cars pushes manufacturers to change course.

Stellantis aims to speed up production of its electrified dual-clutch gearboxes by 10 per cent, said Leonardo Rossi, manager of the plant in Mirafiori that makes the product. Meanwhile, output of the electric Fiat 500 at a nearby site is being halted.

“There is increased demand for hybrids, so there won’t be much vacation at all for us," Rossi said in an interview at the factory, which employs about 600 people.

Demand for hybrid vehicles has seen an uptick in recent months as consumers seek options that are more affordable and less dependent on lagging charging infrastructure than the EVs on offer. Stellantis, which makes Fiat, Peugeot and Jeep vehicles, is expanding its hybrid lineup with a plan to have 30 models in Europe this year and six new ones through 2026.

Through a joint venture with Punch Powertrain, Stellantis has current capacity for more than 1.2 million electrified dual-clutch transmissions, or eDCTs, per year in its two sites of Mirafiori and Metz in northern France, which supply 11 car plants. The company currently produces hybrid vehicles in more than 70 per cent of its plants in Europe.

Stellantis is investing to reinvent the historical site of Mirafiori after Chief Executive Officer Carlos Tavares shifted much car production to lower-cost countries. During its heyday in the 1970s, the site employed some 50,000 Fiat SpA workers and produced more than 600,000 cars a year.

The Italian government is concerned about preserving jobs after Stellantis’ local car production in Italy fell 36 per cent in the first half of the year. In Mirafiori, where the electric Fiat 500 is assembled, production slumped 63 per cent during that period and is halted again from July 15 to Aug. 25, two labor unions have said.

Industry Minister Adolfo Urso, at a Stellantis event in Turin last week to celebrate Fiat’s 125th anniversary, called on Tavares to make “responsible" choices on jobs, saying he doesn’t want to see the site transformed into a “museum" for the automotive industry.

Stellantis has pledged to invest €240 million ($262 million) in the overhaul of Mirafiori. The complex is also home to the company’s new battery technology center and a circular economy hub that currently employees roughly 500 people. The company has spent €40 million on each of those two sites.

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