Stellantis reportedly plans second plant for Citroën ë-C3

The Citroën ë-C3 is expected to roll off the production line this year, not only at the main production site in Trnava, Slovakia, but also in Kragujevac, Serbia. It would mean that Stellantis will manufacture two of the affordable EVs in Serbia. (UPDATE BELOW)

At least, that’s according to Serbian media reports citing a representative of the trade union federation in Kragujevac. According to Saša Đorđević, president of the Kragujevac branch of the Federation of Independent Trade Unions of Serbia (SSSS), the ë-C3 is produced “in cooperation” with the Slovakian Stellantis plant. Some parts for the ë-C3 are already being produced in Kragujevac and transported to Trnava. The trade unionist describes the fact that vehicle production of the Citroën model will also start in Serbia this year as “good news for the employees in Kragujevac.”

However, it is likely to be overflow production. “First of all, our model will be the Grande Panda, and in cooperation with the Trnava plant in Slovakia, we will also produce the C3, which is their base model. If they have a large number of orders and cannot meet their capacity, we will take on and produce some of these cars,” Đorđević is quoted as saying. However, no specific quantities are mentioned.

Both the ë-C3 and the Fiat Grande Panda are based on the CMP Smart Car platform for low-cost electric cars. Although the Fiat is quite a bit larger than the Citroën, the drive technology is the same: the battery has an energy content of 44 kWh and uses LFP cells from supplier SVOLT. The electric drive has an output of 83 kW, and the range in both cases is around 320 kilometres according to the WLTP. The ë-C3 is available in Germany starting at 23,300 euros (and at £21,990 in the UK), the Grande Panda from 24,990 euros (from £20,975 in the UK).

Update 22 April 2025

Stellantis has since confirmed the media reports. Production of the C3 in Kragujevac has already started, with the electric version ë-C3 soon to follow. “This plant was modernised between 2022 and 2024 to accommodate the new Smart Car platform and production of electric models following an agreement between Stellantis and the Serbian Ministry of Economy,” the company said.

The production of the ë-C3 in Kragujevac is intended to support the Trnava plant, where production of the larger ë-C3 Aircross on the same platform is currently underway. However, Stellantis does not specify how many units are planned from Serbia.

balkangreenenergynews.com, nin.rs (in Serbian), stellantis.com (update)