Decision of Stellantis to Have Electric Panda Produced in Serbia Causes Protest from Italian Trade Unions – They Fear for Their Jobs

The multinational automotive manufacturing corporation Stellantis has confirmed today its decision to have its future version of the Fiat Panda model, with an exclusively electric drive, produced in Serbia, which the president of Serbia, Aleksandar Vucic, announced on Sunday during the visit of the prime minister of Italy, Giorgia Meloni, to Belgrade.

Fiat’s plan has caused vehement protests from the Italian trade unions worried for the jobs at the company’s Italian factories, AFP reports.

Fiat Panda is produced at the Pomigliano d'Arco factory near Naples, and the electric version is expected for mid-2024.

The current version of Panda which is produced in Italy fully meets the needs of a large number of customers, especially Italians, said the spokesperson of Stellantis and added that “we don’t believe it will compete with the model which is to be produced in Serbia, which will be on a different platform and positioned differently.”

– If the development of the regulations and the competitive conditions of the Pomigliano factory allow for it, we intend to “extend the life” of the existing model and support it until the arrival of a new cycle of models – he added.

The Fiom-Cgil trade union has protested, saying that the assembling of the electrical model of Fiat Panda in Serbia is “an unacceptable decision which it will stand against using all means” and asking for guarantees of the current level of production and employment at Pomigliano on behalf of the workers at that factory.

It is becoming urgent and necessary to know which type of vehicle is to replace the current Panda, whose production at Pomigliano is planned until 2026, it is added.

The topic will be on the agenda of the first round table about the automotive sector that the relevant ministry is organizing on Wednesday in Rome, and Stellantis, the trade unions and region representatives will participate.

This cycle of meetings aims to create the conditions which will enable Stellantis to produce a million vehicles a year in Italy by 2028 or 2030, a source close to the negotiations said.

Last year, Stellantis produced only 685,753 vehicles in Italy, slowed down by the shortage of electronic chips.

Regarding the two latest models presented by Fiat, the small all-terrain vehicle 600e is already produced in Poland, and the miniature super-mini short Topolino for two people will be produced in Morocco, AFP writes.

Predsedništvo Republike Srbije

Stellantis

president of Serbia

Aleksandar Vučić

Giorgia Meloni

Fiat

Panda

Pandina

Pomigliano

Fiat Pandina

Fiat Panda

electric vehicle

electric Panda