Fiat Panda should give way to Alfa Romeo Tonale

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Major changes are taking place at Stellantis’ Pomigliano plant in Italy, where the group builds Alfa Romeos Tonale and Fiats Pandas. Stellantis doubles the number of Alfa Romeo production shifts, at the expense of the Panda’s capacity. It does so in response to Tonal’s anticipated needs.

Alfa Romeo Tonale is doing well and meeting the expected demand from the United States, the brand is increasing the production capacity of 400 cars per day. It does so by taking some of the power of the Fiat Panda. The Panda is the only other model built at the Pomigliano factory in Italy. The factory works in shifts and from now on two shifts will work instead of one in Tonale, and another one in Panda. Panda and Tonale are not built in other factories.

The main reason for expanding the capacity of the Tonale is the imminent start of the American export of the Italian crossover. Alfa Romeo will be launched there – only as a plug-in – in the second quarter. However, the number of Tonales that can be built is limited: the Italians only receive 35,000 battery packs per year from the Chinese CATL, which produces the batteries.

Tonal Twins

The Fiat Panda makes its way not only to the Tonale, but also to the Dodge Hornet. That’s the Tonale-based crossover from the American brand, which expects to sell 40,000 units a year in the United States. More than 35,000 copies of Tonale have been ordered worldwide to date. In 2022, the Pomigliano factory built 20,000 Tonales, as well as 145,000 Pandas. In 2023, output should be even higher, as only 400 Tonales should be built per day. The factory’s 1,600 workers who were allowed to go on vacation in the past may return to work, Automotive News Europe reports. How much Tonale and Hornet’s production capacity will be per year is yet to be determined.

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