Major car brand saved from being 'shut down' by Stellantis despite electric vehicle sales fears

He said that Stellantis, which is the parent company of Vauxhall, Peugeot, Citroen, Fiat and Chrysler, cannot afford to have brands that do not make money.

It followed concerns from experts after Stellantis posted a 48 per cent drop in profits in the first six months of the year, falling to £4.7billion.

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However, Stellantis has confirmed that one brand - Maserati - would not be "shut down", despite reporting a loss of £69million in operational costs.

A spokesperson for the brand said: "Stellantis reaffirms its commitment to all its powerful portfolio of 14 iconic brands.

“Each of them has a 10-year time window to build a profitable and sustainable business, while we acknowledge that volatile markets and temporary situations may cause fluctuations," they told Autocar.

Reports have also suggested that the statement guarantees the future of DS and Lancia which were seen as being on the periphery of Stellantis.

It follows a period of uncertainty for the brand after suggestions were made that it could close its UK car factories over the Government's Zero Emission Vehicle mandate.

The UK managing director of the firm said that it could be forced to close its plants at Ellesmere Port and Luton unless electric vehicle manufacturing rules were softened.

Stellantis remains on track to achieve its carbon net zero emission target by 2038, as Maserati looks to ditch internal combustion engines by 2028.

Earlier this year, Stellantis announced that it would begin medium-size electric van production at its Luton plant from 2025 including Vauxhall, Citroen, Peugeot and Fiat Professional.

Speaking at the time, Mark Noble, Stellantis UK manufacturing lead, said the facility would produce compact vans, with customer orders rolling off the production line next year.

The Ellesmere Port plant is the UK's first electric vehicle-only volume manufacturing plant and the brand's first plant globally dedicated to EVs.

Stellantis had a 30.4 per cent market share in van sales across Europe last year, with a further 38.8 per cent of the electric van market.

It had an even larger share in the UK with 47.9 per cent, as well as having the number one electric van - the Vauxhall Vivaro Electric.

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Stellantis also announced that it would be offering a voluntary buyout package to its salaried workforce in the United States.

They currently have around 11,000 workers in the US, with eligible employees expected to receive more information about the changes in mid-August.