Stellantis to halt Italy van plant until Saturday due to parts shortage

MILAN (Reuters) -Stellantis will halt its Sevel van making plant in central Italy from Wednesday to Saturday due to a shortage in supplies of parts, a spokesman for the company said on Tuesday.

The Italian-French car maker has been taking decisions on its operations on a day-by-day, plant-by-plant basis since the start of the COVID pandemic, the spokesman added.

Nicola Manzi, the local head of UILM metal mechanic union, told Reuters the stoppage would involve all of the 5,300 employees at Europe's largest van plant.

"The plant has been halted for more than 30 days since the beginning of the year due to part shortages and this will continue," Manzi said. "Sevel's order book is strong, but we don't manage to fulfill demand".

With an annual production capacity of over 300,000 units, Sevel produces light commercial vehicles under the brands Fiat, Peugeot and Citroen.

Metal mechanic union FIOM earlier on Wednesday said in a statement the stoppage was due to a shortage in the supply of engines for the Peugeot and Citroen brands.

(Reporting by Giulio PiovaccariEditing by Keith Weir)