Stellantis Shakes Up European Auto Industry: Madrid Plant Faces Uncertain Future

Stellantis has strengthened its presence in Spain with three plants in Vigo, Figueruelas and Villaverde. The latter could lose the production of its two current models: the Citroën C4 gasoline, diesel and 100% electric, as well as the C4 X. Rumors indicate that these models. According to La Tribuna de Automoción, Stellantis will relocate the production of the next generation of Citroën C4 in 2029 to its plant in Kénitra, Morocco. "The C4, like any other vehicle, has a life and production cycle, but that doesn’t mean the plant doesn’t have other potential projects on the table that guarantee its viability," company representatives told the Spanish media.

"Stellantis confirms that the group is working on several scenarios to ensure the future of the Villaverde plant in Madrid beyond the current Citroën C4. These scenarios will be communicated in due course," it is specified. The option considered is that this plant becomes a branch of Figueruelas, like Mangualde, in Portugal, which supports the one in Vigo. This decision would require the assembly lines in Villaverde to be converted to the new STLA Small platform (confirmed for Vigo and Figueruelas), which should produce small and exclusively electric vehicles, such as the Peugeot 208 and the Opel Corsa, from 2027.

For structural and strategic reasons, particularly low labor costs, tax incentives and geographical proximity to Europe, many automakers are choosing to relocate part of their production to countries like Morocco or Turkey, to the detriment of other Western European countries.