Citroën is the only brand in the Group to produce these vehicles at all three of its Spanish plants, making it an important brand for the country. Of these three plants, the Madrid plant is the most important, as it is the only one to produce the Citroën C4 and C4 X, and is expected to return to its historic levels.
A few days ago, I told you that the Madrid factory had been able to recruit a third team to increase production once the component shortage was over. On the 27th of August, the Madrid plant will welcome this third production team, which will work at night and will allow production of the C4 and C4X to increase significantly.
Each night of the week, between 170 and 225 additional vehicles will be produced, allowing the plant to increase its production, which is now expected to reach 118,000 units, the highest figure since 2010, when Madrid produced the Peugeot 207 and Citroën C3. These 118,000 units produced are also 22.4% higher than the forecasts made at the beginning of the year, which shows that there is demand for the C4 and C4 X, as Stellantis does not produce to fill car parks. This should have a significant impact on sales of Citroën's compact sedan in the second half of the year, with greater availability and therefore shorter delivery times.
After producing almost 82,000 units in 2022, the highest figure since 2016 despite the component shortage that hit the company hard, the Madrid plant is therefore aiming to increase its production from now on by 44.23% in 2023 compared to the previous year, a sign that the headwinds caused by the component shortage and logistical difficulties are about to be overcome in order to achieve the real level of sales of the latest C4 and its sister C4 X, which could not fully express itself due to the health context in 2021 and the difficulties encountered in 2022.
The arrival of this third production team will allow the return of 250 people hired on temporary contracts, in addition to 50 internal redeployments. It is therefore beneficial for employment, especially as forecasts indicate that this third team will be present at least until the end of the first quarter of 2024, and may be extended if orders for the C4 and C4 X are good.