Stellantis is warning of potential factory closures across Europe as the automaker struggles to align with the European Union’s increasingly stringent CO₂ emissions targets. The alarm was sounded this week by Jean-Philippe Imparato, the group’s Europe chief, who described the situation as “just months away from a drama” if no regulatory adjustments are made before year-end.
Speaking at Stellantis’s Hordain plant in northern France — where 2,600 workers build light commercial vehicles for brands including Peugeot, Citroën, Fiat, Opel, and Toyota — Imparato laid out stark numbers.
Electric vans currently account for just 9% of Stellantis’s sales in the segment, far short of the EU’s target of 24% by 2027. Should sales stagnate at this level, Stellantis could face penalties of €2.5 to €2.6 billion over three years, he warned.
Bad news for Atessa?
“I have two solutions: either I push like hell (on electric) … or I close down ICE (internal combustion engine vehicles). And therefore I close down factories,” Imparato told workers and local press, adding that shutting down production of profitable diesel models may become unavoidable to avoid breaching fleet emission limits.
Stellantis’s European light commercial vehicle network includes major sites in France, Italy, Spain, the UK, Germany, and Poland. It’s the Atessa plant in Italy — Europe’s largest van factory — that Imparato singled out as one that could face the axe if sales targets remain out of reach.
Luton is in the first row
That scenario has already started to play out in the UK. Stellantis closed its van plant in Luton, northwest of London, at the end of March, resulting in the loss of around 1,200 jobs.
Originally planned as a hub for electric van production alongside Ellesmere Port, Luton was under threat by the UK’s strict zero-emission vehicle (ZEV) mandate, which requires a fixed share of sales to be electric or face penalties.
In that case, Stellantis decided not to wait for the ongoing talks with the British government to conclude. They stated that continuing production in Luton was no longer viable, given sluggish demand and limited local support measures. Now, a similar playbook is being rolled out for mainland Europe, as Imparato points out.
Slight reprieve
The warning echoes similar calls from other industry leaders. Stellantis Chairman John Elkann and Renault CEO Luca de Meo have both urged Brussels to reconsider the pace of its emissions crackdown, arguing that the rapid push risks eroding Europe’s manufacturing base.
Earlier this year, the EU granted a slight reprieve, allowing carmakers to meet CO₂ targets more gradually through 2027, rather than facing an abrupt compliance cliff in 2025. But for Imparato, this remains far from sufficient.
“Everyone tells me not to worry, that no one will pay these fines. But so far, it’s all talk. The sense of urgency is missing,” he said. Imparato wants the EU to allow carmakers to offset CO₂ numbers for cars and vans together — a measure he says would help balance the commercial segment, which remains heavily reliant on diesel. He also called for a new scrappage incentive that would reward automakers for replacing older vehicles with cleaner models, even if they’re not fully electric.
With leadership changes still fresh — Carlos Tavares stepped down late last year, and Antonio Filosa was named CEO in June — Stellantis faces tough choices ahead. Analysts increasingly expect that parts of its vast 14-brand portfolio could be trimmed.
The company’s half-year results, due by the end of this month, may shed light on whether more site closures or brand cuts are on the horizon. Europe’s second-largest automaker races to keep pace with a regulatory environment that many in the industry now describe as out of step with market realities.
