Automaker Stellantis has announced several days of factory closures across its French assembly plants in Rennes and Sochaux following a severe shortage of electric vehicle batteries.
The temporary production halts directly affect 6,000 industrial workers placed on partial unemployment schemes, including 2,000 staff members at the Rennes facility and 4,000 at the Sochaux plant.
The factory shutdowns come during an ongoing fuel crisis in France, which has prompted French consumers to purchase electric cars in record numbers. Electric vehicles currently represent 40 percent of all new car sales across the country.
While the surge in electric vehicle purchases was expected to provide a major commercial boost for French vehicle manufacturers, severe bottlenecks in battery supply chains have left assembly lines unable to meet consumer demand.
Factory shutdowns and staff impacts
Stellantis announced the temporary plant closures on Tuesday, confirming that assembly work would pause for several days due to the battery shortfall. The company stated that the shortage had left production lines unable to continue normal manufacturing operations.
The measure places 2,000 employees at the Rennes site and 4,000 employees at Sochaux on partial unemployment, known in France as chômage partiel. Under the French state-backed scheme, businesses facing operational disruptions or component shortages can temporarily reduce employee hours or suspend operations, with affected workers receiving government-subsidized wage compensation while remaining employed.
Demand boom and battery shortages
Rising fuel prices during the domestic fuel crisis have accelerated the transition toward electric mobility in France, driving sales of battery-powered models to historic highs. However, automotive manufacturers have struggled to secure sufficient battery cells to maintain full production schedules.
Electric vehicle batteries rely on complex supply chains involving raw materials such as lithium, nickel, and cobalt, as well as specialized cell manufacturing facilities. Bottlenecks in any stage of the production process can quickly halt final vehicle assembly at main automotive manufacturing plants.
Industrial footprint in France
Stellantis is one of the world's largest automotive groups, formed in 2021 through the merger of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles and the French PSA Group. The multinational corporation operates numerous brand portfolios, including Peugeot, Citroën, DS Automobiles, Opel, and Fiat.
The Rennes-La Janais manufacturing complex in Brittany, western France, is a longstanding production center for Stellantis, specializing in passenger cars for the Peugeot and Citroën brands. The Sochaux facility in Bourgogne-Franche-Comté, eastern France, is Peugeot's historic flagship manufacturing complex and remains one of the largest industrial automotive sites in the country.
With battery deliveries remaining constrained, Stellantis has not yet detailed when full manufacturing capacity will be restored across the two French assembly facilities.
