Europe’s second-largest car producer forced to halt production sites in America over new tariffs

Automotive giant Stellantis is halting production at two key assembly plants in Canada and Mexico as it responds to President Donald Trump’s newly implemented 25 per cent automotive tariffs, the company confirmed on April 3.

These shutdowns represent the most immediate and significant response by any automaker to the tariffs that were announced by US President Donald Trump only recently, Caliber.Az reports citing American media.

The automotive tariffs, which took effect the same day of their announcement, apply to all vehicles imported into the US, including those manufactured in Canada and Mexico.

Stellantis was formed in 2021 through the merger of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) and France’s PSA Group, the parent company of Peugeot and Citroën. The Netherlands-based conglomerate now oversees 14 automotive brands: Abarth, Alfa Romeo, Chrysler, Citroën, Dodge, DS Automobiles, Fiat, Jeep, Lancia, Maserati, Opel, Peugeot, Ram, and Vauxhall.

The production halt will begin next week, lasting two weeks at the Windsor Assembly Plant in Ontario, Canada, and the entire month of April at the Toluca Assembly Plant in Mexico.

The Windsor facility produces the Chrysler Pacifica minivan and the newly introduced Dodge Charger Daytona EV, while the Toluca plant manufactures the Jeep Compass SUV and Jeep Wagoneer S EV.

Due to the production stoppage, approximately 900 US workers at supporting plants will face temporary layoffs, along with around 4,500 hourly workers at the Canadian plant, according to a Stellantis spokeswoman. Meanwhile, employees at the Mexican facility will continue reporting to work but will not be assembling vehicles due to contractual obligations.

“We are continuing to assess the medium- and long-term effects of these tariffs on our operations, but also have decided to take some immediate actions, including temporarily pausing production at some of our Canadian and Mexican assembly plants,” said Stellantis North America COO Mark Stewart.

Following the announcement, Stellantis shares plunged 9.4 per cent, marking their worst single-day decline since September.

By Nazrin Sadigova