The French car manufacturer Stellantis wants to show how much it is taking over digital transformation with big data and software. But it is digital that causes a production stoppage on a major industrial site of the brand.
The Stellantis factory in Sochaux is ceasing its activity tomorrow, and at least until April 14. The reason ? A shortage of gearboxes for the 3008 and 5008 models, explains France Bleu Belfort Montbéliard.
And it is the semiconductors, or rather their absence, which is the cause of this shutdown. Consequence: almost all employees are placed on partial unemployment.
“Complicated” supply until the end of 2023
Last October, Stellantis predicted a “complicated” supply until the end of 2023.
“The situation will remain very complicated until the end of 2023, then will relax a little,” said Carlos Tavares at the time.
For the past two years, shortages of semiconductor chips – whether caused by the Covid-19 health crisis, strict lockdowns in China or the Russian invasion of Ukraine – have forced automakers worldwide to pause the production of millions of cars.
The global chip shortage will remain a challenge for the industry until at least 2024
Stellantis had already shut down the production line at its plant located in Sochaux in August 2022. In 2021, the manufacturer born from the merger between PSA and Fiat-Chrysler Automobiles, had already had to extend the shutdown of its factories in Rennes (Ille-et-Vilaine), Sochaux and Eisenach in Germany, responsible for the production of several SUV models.
To cope with the shortage, the manufacturer then planned to modify the range of chips it uses, and to give priority to its most profitable vehicles. This strategy apparently did not have the desired effects.
Interviewed in 2022, Intel boss Pat Gelsinger said the global chip shortage would remain a challenge for the industry until at least 2024.