Car manufacturer Stellantis, with brands such as Peugeot, Citroën, Opel, Jeep, and Fiat, will cease production of combustion engines at its Douvrin facility in the northern French department of Pas-de-Calais.
The approximately 350 employees at the site will be transferred to the nearby ACC gigafactory, a joint venture for battery production, or to other sites within the group. The unions fear that the factory will close in 2026. The closure is part of the global shift toward electromobility.
Switch to car batteries
Production of the DV diesel engine will be discontinued by November 1 at the latest. The discontinuation of the EB engine’s output will follow later, although no specific date has been announced yet.
According to the unions, 330 former Stellantis Douvrin employees have already transferred to the Automotive Cells Company (ACC) gigafactory. This factory, a joint venture between Stellantis, TotalEnergies, and Mercedes-Benz, is located next to the engine factory and produces car batteries for EVs.
Stellantis Douvrin employees who do not move to ACC will be transferred to other group sites in the region, notably Hordain (light commercial vehicles, with various powertrains) and Valenciennes (transmission components for electric powertrains).
EU phase-out of combustion engines
Stellantis had already announced in 2021 that production of the successor for the EP engine (hybrid/gasoline), which was exclusively produced in Douvrin at the time, would be permanently relocated to Hungary (Szentgotthárd).
At the same time, it was decided that from 2023, the plant would take over part of the production of the EP Gen 3 engine, the successor to the small three-cylinder gasoline engine already produced there; however, the plant would continue to operate at lower production volumes.
However, Stellantis is now discontinuing engine production in Douvrin. This strategy fits in with the accelerated phase-out of thermal engines as desired by Europe in the transition from combustion engines to EV production. After all, EU regulations prohibit the sale of vehicles with combustion engines in Europe starting from 2035.
More than 50 million engines produced
Douvrin was founded in 1969 by Peugeot and Régie Renault under the name Française de Mécanique. The factory built engines such as the ES, EW, Prince, VTI, THP, and the V6 PRV (a collaboration between Peugeot, Renault, and Volvo) in the 1970s and 1980s.
In addition to models such as the R25, Laguna, Safrane, the 504 coupé/cabriolet, and the 260 series from Volvo, the PRV was also popular in motorsports and rallying. In its 55 years of existence, Douvrin, which employed up to 5,800 permanent staff, has produced over 52 million engines, equipping cars worldwide.
