• Login
  • Register
The Daily Sceptic
No Result
View All Result
  • Articles
  • About
  • Archive
    • ARCHIVE
    • NEWS ROUND-UPS
  • Podcasts
  • Newsletter
  • Premium
  • Donate
  • Log In
The Daily Sceptic
No Result
View All Result

Fiat Suspends Production of Electric Car for Month Due to Slump in EV Demand

by Will Jones
14 September 2024 11:00 AM

Italian car maker Fiat has told the workforce on its electric 500 assembly line to down tools for a month due to lack of demand for the battery-powered city cars. The Mail has more.

Its parent company Stellantis said on Thursday it would suspend production of the fully electric Fiat 500e for four weeks due to sluggish demand.

The global slowdown in sales of electric vehicles, partly due to diverging policies on green incentives, has pushed car makers worldwide to adjust their EV plans, with Volvo earlier in the month abandoning its ambitions of becoming an electric-only auto maker in 2030.

“The measure is necessary due to the current lack of orders linked to the deep difficulties experienced in the European electric (car) market by all producers, particularly the European ones,” Stellantis said in a statement issued earlier in the week.

The 500 is made in Turin, the birthplace of the Fiat brand, at the historic Mirafiori plant.

The suspension of production will start on Friday, Stellantis said, adding it was “working hard to manage at its best this hard phase of transition”.

As part of these efforts, the Franco-Italian group said it is investing €100 million euros (£85 million) in the Mirafiori plant to adopt a higher performance battery.

Changes to the factory are also afoot due to the decision to produce a hybrid version of the 500 electric model, starting between 2025 and 2026 – another reactionary move to tackle a slowdown in EV demand.

When Fiat discussed the reasons behind the decision to reintroduce a petrol-hybrid powerplant – something it originally said it would not do with the intention of the new 500 being electric only – it pointed to older drivers in particular not wanting to buy battery-powered vehicles. 

Worth reading in full – includes a rundown of other brands also delaying their electric transition, including Toyota, Renault and Mercedes.

Tags: Electric carsEVsGreen AgendaNet Zero

Donate

We depend on your donations to keep this site going. Please give what you can.

Donate Today

Comment on this Article

You’ll need to set up an account to comment if you don’t already have one. We ask for a minimum donation of £5 if you'd like to make a comment or post in our Forums.

Sign Up
Previous Post

Christians Are Being Hounded From Their Jobs by the Perpetually Offended

Next Post

U.S. Government Invited U.K. Counter Disinformation Unit to High Level Meeting for Tips on How to Censor the Public

Subscribe
Login
Notify of
Please log in to comment

To join in with the discussion please make a donation to The Daily Sceptic.

Profanity and abuse will be removed and may lead to a permanent ban.

19 Comments
Oldest
Newest Most Voted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
10navigator
10navigator
8 months ago

The naivete and simple wrongheadedness of the execs in charge of these manufacturers is breathtaking. A blind man could see that EVs were a busted flush from the outset. “Gizzajob!”

10
0
PRSY
PRSY
8 months ago
Reply to  10navigator

Since when has common sense or logic mattered in the context of net zero?

9
0
JXB
JXB
8 months ago
Reply to  10navigator

I do not understand why there are no Court cases brought by shareholders who have lost £$€¥ billions, against company directors and management for breach of fiduciary duty.

Properly conducted marketing would have reported that the lack of charging infrastructure or planning to build it, consumer preferences, competition (ICEVs), product practicality, high market entry price (even with subsidies), huge capital input with long interval before RoI realised, made BEVs high risk project likely to fail, perhaps with just a small niche market.

It is why companies have marketing departments, to avoid making costly mistakes. Either no marketing was done, or marketing reports were ignored.

I suppose there is a third possibility, company management these days is so incompetent it’s not worth spit.

7
0
Bloss
Bloss
8 months ago
Reply to  JXB

I drove an all electric Fiat 500 while my ICE was in for a service. Absolutely hated it and couldn’t believe the price tag. Good enough reason not to buy it in my book and evidently others feel the same.

0
0
Lockdown Sceptic
Lockdown Sceptic
8 months ago

Electric Car Production Slumps 

4
0
JXB
JXB
8 months ago
Reply to  Lockdown Sceptic

It makes it sound as if it had been hugely successful, then suddenly….

5
0
davidcraig68
davidcraig68
8 months ago

But surely Ed Miliband will be buying one?

5
0
Steve-Devon
Steve-Devon
8 months ago
Reply to  davidcraig68

In my view no private individual should be buying an electric car (EV), the costs, risks, liabilities and practical problems render them unsuitable for private ownership. And indeed, most EVs have been sold to leasing companies and are operating on a lease basis. As these leased EVs come to the end of their leasing life they are being sold off with massive depreciation. This depreciation is so huge that the lease companies are taking a big hit and lease charges for EVs are rising fast to claw back these depreciation losses.
As lease costs rise the corporate world is cutting back on leased EVs. As demand for EVs slows up the Zero Emissions Mandate kicks in and puts the brakes on how many petrol/diesel ICE) cars can be sold without incurring a hefty fine. And so, as EVs sales slow the supply of ICE cars is held back. In essence to hark back to the old ESSO advert;

”The EV sign means the end of motoring, no happy motoring,
Call at the EV sign for no more motoring”

5
0
Tonka Rigger
Tonka Rigger
8 months ago
Reply to  Steve-Devon

Yes, it’s absolutely crazy. I watched a YouTube video on the subject of the Porsche GT3 RS and what was required to get on the waiting list for a shot at buying that car. Basically, Porsche told the prospective buyer that he would be required to have three (electric) Taycans first! They just can’t shift them, and by some estimates/calculations they are depreciating by as much as £1000/mth! Add to this the fact that Porsche are bringing out a newer Taycan, the old and unsold ones are less desirable than ever, a massive failure.

5
0
Q
Q
8 months ago
Reply to  Tonka Rigger

Do you refer to the c.£90,000 Porch Tincan, that lost the endurance race John O’Groats to Land’s End to a 15-year old 3-Series BMW diesel (that cost £1,500 to buy)?

3
0
bertieboy
bertieboy
8 months ago
Reply to  davidcraig68

Somebody may have to advise him that the new EV will be delivered with a 70% higher upfront “carbon footprint” which will take 50000 to 80000 miles to shed!

2
0
Epi
Epi
8 months ago
Reply to  davidcraig68

A whole fleet I should imagine paid for by the taxpayer.

2
0
Jabby Mcstiff
Jabby Mcstiff
8 months ago

It isn’t just electric cars this agenda is being disinvested at every level because it all slots together and makes no business sense at all on any level once public trust is lost. Nice try tossers. They did get away with an awful lot of money and power though and it will take three decades to get it back.

2
0
Q
Q
8 months ago

It’s almost as though Fiat have realised the high number of children killed and maimed daily in and down the African cobalt mines, or the toxic pollution caused by the lithium production ‘baths’, or the impossibility of safely disposing of the old expired batteries. No, of course not.

Apologies to sensitive readers, one realises this subject should not be discussed openly. Like the Bird-Slicers and Silicon Deserts appearing rapidly across our [once] fine land and coasts.

7
0
Mccgregor
Mccgregor
8 months ago

I’m not an expert but I can quickly see that the author of this article has got the wrong end of the stick.
There is no slow down in EV demand – it is still growing. ICE car production peaked before Covid and is NEVER coming back.
There is only one EV manufacturer making a profit on their cars, every one else is producing very expensive prototype EVs. Many years back the 1st Fiat 500 electric was produced for California, at a huge loss,in order that
Fiat, or Stelantis could sell their more profitable ICE cars. They actually said they hoped people wouldn’t buy them because of the loss made on each one. The situation is the same for all EV manufactures, they are still selling prototype EVs, at a huge loss. As they don’t have any compelling or competitive EVs they have found that they can’t sell the car’s
they produce. They have g8ven up on the race to beat Tesla.
But they can’t admit this.
So they are creating a story that EV demand has fallen, it was all too early, and they will concentrate on Hybrids. This is all a desperate strategy to stay in business – they know they can’t afford to make EVs at the moment so they are making rapidly dwindling profits on what they can make.
What we are witnessing is the colla0se of legacy car manufacturers.
EVs are coming, only slowed by the economic slowdown
If they are cheap enough people will buy them. Legacy auto is facing a terrible future with their decline marked by the loss of scale and bargaining power.. Stelantis and particularly Fiat are even more exposed as they refuse to pay Tesla for EV credits, on principle.
I could go on in detail, but you need a better advocate than me in this Comments Section otherwise you are just getting the narrative legacy auto wants you to believe…

0
0
RTSC
RTSC
8 months ago

The Eco Nutters seem to be learning the hard way that they can make manufacturers build EVs, but they can’t make “the peasants” buy them.

Who’d a thunk it.

4
0
Peter W
Peter W
8 months ago
Reply to  RTSC

I think the Soviet Union is still trying to sell its excess tractors.
I guess command economies can never work, especially as it’s usually a bunch of idealistic idiots doing the commanding.

0
0
Covid-1984
Covid-1984
8 months ago

Just a month? 😂 EV’s are the Betamax of the automotive industry.

1
0
varmint
varmint
8 months ago

You can lead a horse to water………………Government are determined to stuff the medicine down our throats but the people know it is just a placebo. Just as I type this I see on GB News that someting to do with hybrids has been pushed back from 2030 to 2035. —(I will check the details soon) But expect more of this kind of thing as reality is a hard enemy to defeat.

1
0

NEWSLETTER

View today’s newsletter

To receive our latest news in the form of a daily email, enter your details here:

DONATE

PODCAST

The Sceptic | Episode 38: Chris Bayliss on the Commonwealth Voting Scandal, Sarah Phillimore on the Bar’s Scrapped EDI Plans and Eugyppius on ‘White Genocide’

by Richard Eldred
30 May 2025
2

LISTED ARTICLES

  • Most Read
  • Most Commented
  • Editor’s Picks

Did Muslim Home Office Staff Block Persecuted Christian Woman’s Asylum Claim?

31 May 2025
by Richard Eldred

News Round-Up

31 May 2025
by Richard Eldred

Basic Physics All at Sea in Sky News Climate Scare Nonsense Story

31 May 2025
by Chris Morrison

John Rentoul’s Fake Cost of Net Zero

31 May 2025
by Paul Homewood

Comedian’s Show Cancelled Over Liverpool Parade Crash Joke

30 May 2025
by Richard Eldred

News Round-Up

42

Comedian’s Show Cancelled Over Liverpool Parade Crash Joke

58

Free Speech Union Scores Victory as Ex-Cop Wins £20,000 Over ‘Thought Crime’ Arrest

22

Did Muslim Home Office Staff Block Persecuted Christian Woman’s Asylum Claim?

22

Britain Is Sleepwalking Into Total State Control of Our Daily Lives

16

Basic Physics All at Sea in Sky News Climate Scare Nonsense Story

31 May 2025
by Chris Morrison

John Rentoul’s Fake Cost of Net Zero

31 May 2025
by Paul Homewood

Are Schools Actually Institutionalised Childcare?

30 May 2025
by Joanna Gray

Trump is Handing Africa to the Chinese for the Sake of Social Media Clout

29 May 2025
by Noah Carl

Hooked on Freedom: Why Medical Autonomy Matters

29 May 2025
by Dr David Bell

POSTS BY DATE

September 2024
M T W T F S S
 1
2345678
9101112131415
16171819202122
23242526272829
30  
« Aug   Oct »

SOCIAL LINKS

Free Speech Union

NEWSLETTER

View today’s newsletter

To receive our latest news in the form of a daily email, enter your details here:

POSTS BY DATE

September 2024
M T W T F S S
 1
2345678
9101112131415
16171819202122
23242526272829
30  
« Aug   Oct »

DONATE

LISTED ARTICLES

  • Most Read
  • Most Commented
  • Editor’s Picks

Did Muslim Home Office Staff Block Persecuted Christian Woman’s Asylum Claim?

31 May 2025
by Richard Eldred

News Round-Up

31 May 2025
by Richard Eldred

Basic Physics All at Sea in Sky News Climate Scare Nonsense Story

31 May 2025
by Chris Morrison

John Rentoul’s Fake Cost of Net Zero

31 May 2025
by Paul Homewood

Comedian’s Show Cancelled Over Liverpool Parade Crash Joke

30 May 2025
by Richard Eldred

News Round-Up

42

Comedian’s Show Cancelled Over Liverpool Parade Crash Joke

58

Free Speech Union Scores Victory as Ex-Cop Wins £20,000 Over ‘Thought Crime’ Arrest

22

Did Muslim Home Office Staff Block Persecuted Christian Woman’s Asylum Claim?

22

Britain Is Sleepwalking Into Total State Control of Our Daily Lives

16

Basic Physics All at Sea in Sky News Climate Scare Nonsense Story

31 May 2025
by Chris Morrison

John Rentoul’s Fake Cost of Net Zero

31 May 2025
by Paul Homewood

Are Schools Actually Institutionalised Childcare?

30 May 2025
by Joanna Gray

Trump is Handing Africa to the Chinese for the Sake of Social Media Clout

29 May 2025
by Noah Carl

Hooked on Freedom: Why Medical Autonomy Matters

29 May 2025
by Dr David Bell

SOCIAL LINKS

Free Speech Union
  • Home
  • About us
  • Donate
  • Privacy Policy

Facebook

  • X

Instagram

RSS

Subscribe to our newsletter

© Skeptics Ltd.

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password? Sign Up

Create New Account!

Fill the forms below to register

All fields are required. Log In

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
No Result
View All Result
  • Articles
  • About
  • Archive
    • ARCHIVE
    • NEWS ROUND-UPS
  • Podcasts
  • Newsletter
  • Premium
  • Donate
  • Log In

© Skeptics Ltd.

wpDiscuz
You are going to send email to

Move Comment
Perfecty
Do you wish to receive notifications of new articles?
Notifications preferences