Stellantis' French Engine Plant To Produce EV Motors

Stellantis, the world's fourth-biggest automaker, announced on Wednesday that it will increase electric motor manufacturing at its factory in Tremery, France, which has long been the world's largest diesel engine plant, to account for 50 percent of the facility's capacity by 2024, Gilles Guillaume reported for Reuters.

Photo Insert: Stellantis has spent about 37 million euros ($38.73 million) in Tremery and Metz on electric motors as well as new gasoline engines.

Diesel will account for 67 percent of production at this factory in northeastern France in 2021. By 2024, diesel engines will make up only 30% of installed capacity. Gasoline engines, which are also employed in hybrid electric vehicles, will account for 20% of capacity.

Stellantis proposes to produce 200,000 motors at Tremery through a joint venture with Japanese electric motor maker Nidec by the end of 2021, increasing to more than 1 million by 2024.

"It is quite symbolic to see this as our leading plant for starting e-motor production and transformation we face," Stellantis' Chief Manufacturing Officer Arnaud Deboeuf told reporters.

Within the last decade, diesel accounted for more than 50 percent of European new car sales, but the technology has fallen out of favor as the European Union (EU) has focused on zero-emission cars.

On Wednesday, EU governments agreed on proposed climate change legislation, including a ban on new fossil-fuel automobile sales beginning in 2035. The transition to electric vehicles offers significant job and training challenges for automakers.

An electric motor requires one-third of the parts and labor of an internal combustion engine.

The Tremery facility opened in 1979 and has already eliminated employment. The facility now employs roughly 2,400 people, with a nearby gearbox plant in Metz employing 1,100, compared to 3,000 and 1,400 in 2019. Metz will concentrate 62 percent of its production on electrified dual-clutch gearboxes for plug-in hybrids by 2024.

Stellantis has spent about 37 million euros ($38.73 million) in Tremery and Metz on electric motors as well as new gasoline engines.

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