Although there are still some difficulties, the shortage of components will soon be a thing of the past and manufacturers will be able to regain all their production capacities with a clearer horizon. Stellantis, in particular, has announced the creation of a fourth team at its factory in Vigo, Spain, which will allow it to make up for the delay in production.
Would it be the right one this time? After being activated for the first time in May 2018 and then suspended in October 2021 due to a shortage of components, the fourth team is returning to the Vigo site dedicated to System 2, which produces the K9 programme's utility vehicles (Citroën Berlingo, Peugeot Partner and Opel Combo, among others). This will allow the plant to operate almost 24 hours a day, making up for the delays caused by the numerous production stoppages due to component shortages and reducing delivery times, which are still very long at up to 6 months for commercial vehicles.
This is excellent news for the Spanish plant in Vigo, which will increase its workforce by 700 people to 6,500. This should enable it to become the first car plant in Spain again this year. It is also good news for the Stellantis Group, as this production capacity comes on top of the one opened following the inauguration of the Ellesmere Port plant, which should enable the Group to meet the continued strong demand for these compact power units. The Vigo plant produces 2,300 vehicles a day, including 1,200 K9 commercial vehicles, to which the 670 units produced by the weekend team will be added, bringing weekly production of these commercial vehicles to almost 6,000 units, an increase in production of over 12%, which should have a significant impact on deliveries in the coming weeks.
Ignacio Bueno, Director of Stellantis Vigo, says: "The new equipment will enable us to meet the high demand for our light utility models. There are still some difficulties in supplying the factory, but we are waiting for the situation to stabilise so that we can reach our production potential".
The start of production at the English plant in Ellesmere Port and this new team in Vigo show that the Stellantis Group is counting on these utilities to regain market share, which is still showing a good level of orders. The impact should therefore be strong for the group's brands, including Citroën, for which the Berlingo is important, and the news comes at the right time as the restyling of the vehicles in this programme, including the Berlingo, is imminent.