12:15 pm, March 3, 2023
Car makers Stellantis and Renault are dealing with the shortage of heavy goods vehicle drivers by turning to their own employees and asking them to take on the task.
According to Automotive News Europe, Stellantis has emailed workers and placed posters in factories asking them to temporarily deliver cars.
It reports that around 140 employees have already signed up in France, Spain and Italy.
A shortage of HGV drivers led to thousands of cars being stuck at the car maker’s Peugeot plant in Sochaux late in 2022.
The factory makes Peugeot 3008 and also had to stop production due to semi-conductor shortages earlier last year.
A spokesperson told Automotive News that the they had been forced to park cars on a nearby airfield as they waited for them to be transported.
The war in Ukraine has had a big impact on the number of HGV drivers in Europe, as many drivers came from the country and have now returned to help with the war effort.
Renault also acknowledge an issue with logistics in its annual results and has begun training employees so they can get HGV licence.
Stellantis added that the job switches for staff could be temporary, and those who wanted to return to factory work would be reintegrated.
Car Dealer reported in December that Stellantis’ logistics problems were also causing problems once the cars had arrived in the UK, with the company struggling to deliver vehicles from ports.
A spokesperson for Stellantis commented at the time: ‘Our ability to satisfy the significant demand for our products is constrained leading to unprecedented lead times for our customers. More recently, the logistics sector in both the UK and across Europe is facing a shortage of drivers due to the war in Ukraine.
‘This shortage continues to impact the production volume of the automotive industry compounded further by port congestion and railroad instability.
‘The consequence for our customers is that they have long waiting times and delivery date accuracy slipping. Facing this situation, we have taken various actions to ensure that customer orders are fulfilled as quickly as possible focussing on “first come, first served”.
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