PARIS: Stellantis NV is facing delays to some electric models due to manufacturing difficulties at one of the company's battery makers, according to people familiar with the situation.
Fully electric models such as the Peugeot 3008 and 5008 are being delayed by as long as eight months because of production snags involving long-range batteries made by Automotive Cells Co, said the people, asking not to be identified discussing private information.
The French battery manufacturer is currently only able to fit about 1,000 cars a month, well below its initial target, the people said.
The venture has brought in a team of experts from China to help boost output and avoid high scrap levels, they added.
ACC is mulling options to help lower costs in France as a way to lessen the financial impact from the manufacturing snags, the people added.
"The ramp-up is difficult but we are learning every day and doing as much as possible to service our clients," ACC General Secretary Matthieu Hubert said by email in response to Bloomberg queries. He declined to elaborate.
Stellantis didn't immediately respond to requests for comment.
ACC's snags mirror wider difficulties in Europe, which is struggling to build a homegrown battery industry to break China's stranglehold on electric vehicles.
Several battery factories have been delayed or canceled, including the high-profile collapse of Northvolt AB, the Swedish startup whose backers included Volkswagen AG and BMW AG.
ACC is a joint venture between Stellantis, Mercedes-Benz Group AG and TotalEnergies SE.
Its EV battery factory in Billy-Berclau, close to Lille, was inaugurated with great pomp in 2023, as part of a wider plan by French President Emmanuel Macron to foster a battery industry in northern France.
The delays come as Stellantis Chief Executive Officer Antonio Filosa conducts a review of the group's operations.
He's already scrapped various electric models, including the RAM 1500 pickup truck, and is phasing out plug-in hybrid versions of Jeep and Chrysler models in North America.
Filosa's electric pullback means the group likely will need fewer battery factories than initially expected, the people said.
Stellantis has been fighting back from steep market share losses under previous CEO Carlos Tavares after buyers balked at model price increases, product gaps and quality problems.
The automaker is considering resizing or terminating some battery joint ventures, as part of the group's strategic shift and amid soft demand for battery-powered vehicles, the people said.
No final decisions have yet been made, they added.
ACC previously put on hold plans to build additional battery plants in Germany and Italy.
Apart from ACC, Stellantis also has battery ventures with LG Energy Solution in Canada, with Samsung SDI in Indiana and with China's CATL in Spain.
