Production of Fiat and Maserati EVs Will Stay Paused Over Slow Sales

Fiat won’t be building any new 500es anytime soon. Stellantis has extended the shutdown at the factory where it assembles the little electric vehicle until January 20. The automaker had announced late last month that it would pause production at its Mirafiori factory in Italy until January 5.

The new extended shutdown also includes the Maserati GranTurismo and GrabCabrio that Stellantis also builds at the plant. However, according to the Reuters report, the automaker won’t restart producing those two models until February 3.

Stellantis has paused production at the factory before, including twice late last year in September and again in October. Electric vehicles just aren't selling as well as automakers had planned, and automakers are now curtailing EV production while reconsidering their electrification efforts.

CEO Carlos Tavares had previously blamed bad marketing for Maserati’s woes, but Stellantis has since parted ways with the CEO. There was disagreement between Tavares and the board about the automaker’s direction, leading to his sudden resignation at the beginning of the month. 

Interestingly, abysmal EV sales have been a boon for consumers looking for cheap leases. Falling demand is leaving dealers with a lot of inventory they’re eager to move. One dealer in Colorado is currently offering a $0-a-month lease on the new 500e, leaning generous federal and state incentives to give consumers excellent deals.