Latest news with #Sochaux
Reuters
4 days ago
- Automotive
- Reuters
Major Stellantis car plant in Sochaux to restart production on June 6
PARIS, June 5 (Reuters) - Stellantis' ( opens new tab car plant in Sochaux in eastern France is expected to be restart production on Friday after a few days of stoppage due to the breakdown of its new-generation Chinese stamping press, a Stellantis spokesman told Reuters. The outage came at a critical time of precarious supplies, as the car industry faces a new crisis linked to restrictions on the export of rare earth magnetic materials from China. The press, introduced in 2020 for an investment of 33 million euros, allows great versatility in manufacturing different body parts for the Peugeot 3008 and 5008 SUVs. Out of service since Monday, the press is due to restart on Friday morning and, if the tests are successful, car production will resume soon after, the spokesperson added. The disruption, which resulted in the loss of 1,000 cars a day at one of Stellantis' main factories - which employs 3,000 workers - came at an unfortunate time, just a few days after new CEO Antonio Filosa visited the site after his appointment was announced.
CTV News
6 days ago
- Automotive
- CTV News
Europe's auto parts suppliers suspend output due to China's rare earth curbs
Robotic arms on the Peugeot vehicle assembly line at the Stellantis NV auto plant in Sochaux, France, on Thursday, Oct. 3, 2024. Stellantis is struggling with slowing and more competitive auto markets across Europe, where electric-vehicle demand is waning. Some European auto parts plants have suspended output and German carmaker BMW warned its supplier network was affected by shortages of rare earths, as concerns about the damage from China's restrictions on critical mineral exports deepen. China's decision in April to suspend exports of a wide range of rare earths and related magnets has upended the supply chains central to automakers, aerospace manufacturers, semiconductor companies and military contractors around the world. The move underscores China's dominance of the critical mineral industry, key to the green energy transition, and is seen as leverage by China in its ongoing trade war with U.S. President Donald Trump. China produces around 90% of the world's rare earths. On Wednesday, German carmaker BMW said that part of its supplier network was affected by the shortage in rare earths, but that its own plants were running as normal. Europe's auto supplier association CLEPA said several production lines have been shut down due to rare earths shortages, the latest to warn about the growing threat to manufacturing due to the curb. Of the hundreds of requests for export licenses made by auto suppliers since early April, only a quarter have been granted so far, CLEPA added, with some requests rejected on what the association described as 'highly procedural grounds.' It did not identify the companies but warned of further outages. 'Procedures seem to vary from province to province and in several instances IP-sensitive information has been requested,' it said, adding that if the process was not streamlined soon, more plants would likely be affected in the next three to four weeks as inventories depleted. While China's announcement in April coincided with a broader package of retaliation against Washington's tariffs, the curbs apply globally and are causing worry among business executives around the world. German and U.S. automakers have complained that restrictions by China are threatening production, following a similar grievance from an Indian EV maker last week. Many are lobbying their governments to find a quick solution and scrambling to find alternatives. Some companies only have supplies to last a few weeks or months, Wolfgang Weber, CEO of Germany's electrical and digital industry association ZVEI, said in an emailed statement. 'Companies currently feel abandoned by politicians and are partly looking for solutions to their difficult situation on their own in China,' he said. Swedish Autoliv, the world's biggest maker of airbags and seatbelts, said its operations are not affected, but CEO Mikael Bratt said he has set up a task force to manage the situation. Reliance on China Automakers from General Motors to BMW and major suppliers like ZF and BorgWarner are researching or have developed motors with low- to zero rare earth content in a bid to cut their reliance on China, but few have managed to scale production to bring down costs. BMW has deployed a magnet-free electric motor for its latest generation of electric cars, but still requires rare earths for smaller motors powering components like windshield wipers or car window rollers. German carmaker Volkswagen has received indications that a limited number of Chinese rare earth export licenses have been granted to subcontractors and the company is not seeing any shortages at the moment, it said on Wednesday. China's slow pace of easing its critical mineral export controls has become a focus of Trump's criticism of Beijing, which he says has violated the truce reached last month to roll back tariffs and trade restrictions. Trump has sought to redefine the trading relationship with the United States' biggest economic rival China by imposing steep tariffs on billions of dollars of imported goods in hopes of narrowing a trade deficit and bringing back lost manufacturing. Trump imposed tariffs as high as 145% against China only to scale them back after a selloff in stock, bond and currency markets over the sweeping nature of the levies. China has responded with its own tariffs and is leveraging its dominance in key supply chains to persuade Trump to back down. Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping are expected to talk this week to try and iron out their differences and the export curbs are expected to be high on the agenda. In a social media post on Wednesday, Trump said that Xi is 'VERY TOUGH, AND EXTREMELY HARD TO MAKE A DEAL WITH,' highlighting the fragility of the deal. Reporting by Victoria Waldersee in Berlin, Marie Mannes in Stockholm. Additional reporting by Hakan Ersen in Frankfurt. Writing by Josephine Mason in London. Editing by Emelia Sithole-Matarise.
The Guardian
24-04-2025
- Sport
- The Guardian
Maxence Lacroix: ‘One day I will be in the France team – but right now I want to win this Cup'
Maxence Lacroix is treating Saturday's FA Cup semi-final at Wembley as just another game but the same can't be said of his mother. 'She's more stressed than me right now,' the Crystal Palace defender says. 'But I think it's really good for a mother or father to see their son running his dream and playing this type of game because she knew it was difficult before and now she sees her son growing, having a family and doing what he wants. So I think she's proud, a little bit stressed but it's all right.' Growing up in Ajat, a village in the Dordogne, Lacroix knew he was never going to follow in his mother Corrine's footsteps by becoming a doctor. Having moved to Germany from the French side Sochaux as a 20-year-old after coming through the prestigious Clairefontaine academy, he reunited with Oliver Glasner – his former manager at Wolfsburg – in south London last summer. The elegant defender is the heartbeat of the Palace side that will face Aston Villa for a place in the final and has been tipped to win his first senior cap sooner rather than later after representing France at every youth level. 'One day I will be in a national team – I know,' he says confidently. 'But right now it's to look at what's happening in Crystal Palace, the semi-final and win this Cup.' Lacroix reveals that a chat with the club captain, Joel Ward, has ensured he is fully briefed on Palace's history in this competition. Heartbreaking defeats in finals by Manchester United in 1990 and 2016 mean Palace have never won a major trophy, and they may not get a better chance than this year. Lacroix believes team spirit has been the secret to their superb form since failing to win any of their opening eight Premier League fixtures, with Glasner's side racking up seven successive away clean sheets in all competitions before recent defeats against Manchester City and Newcastle. 'This is really important – to build something off the pitch also,' he says as the striker Jean-Philippe Mateta lurks in the background trying to distract him. 'We can see it on the pitch. Everyone wants to fight for each other. This is why we are difficult to play.' Faith is another key factor that underpins Palace's unity. Ward, Eberechi Eze and Lacroix's central defensive partners Marc Guéhi and Chris Richards are among those who have spoken about how Christian values have influenced their careers. But it wasn't until Lacroix signed that a group of them started praying together before matches. 'We have a lot of Christians in this team and I said when we have a lot of Christians, normally Christianity is a big family,' says Lacroix. 'I said before games we come and we put this game into the hands of God and we pray together. We have done this since the first games I'm here. I think a lot of guys wanted it but didn't know how to do it. I said let's do it and now it's normal.' He adds: 'I'm more like the pastor of this team. I speak a lot about Jesus, about God. I love God. I know a lot about the Bible, about Jesus and I try to give what I know, the knowledge about the words, because sometimes it's difficult to understand. I try my best to spread the word.' Lacroix learned English while in Germany on the advice of his Wolfsburg teammate Josuha Guilavogui, who now plays for Leeds and helped him settle when he moved to Palace. Lacroix has a nine-month-old son and his mother, a former specialist in nutrition and psychology, is regularly on the phone offering advice. 'She helps me every day,' he says. 'If I don't speak with her I'm in trouble. She accomplished everything in her own way. To be a doctor is difficult, it's really long, you have to give a lot, you have to go to school for a while. But it was my plan to play football.' Lacroix was 21 when he was made captain at Wolfsburg by Glasner, who was adamant he was the ideal replacement in the middle of Palace's back three after the sale of Joachim Andersen to Fulham last summer. It has proved to be a shrewd move because Lacroix's ability on the ball and recovery speed have complemented the attributes of Guéhi and Richards. 'He takes the best of you,' Lacroix says of the Austrian manager. 'He can make a normal player into a good player because he helps you to give everything you have. I think this is the biggest point.' The 25-year-old's eyes light up when he looks forward to the prospect of running out in front of 35,000 Palace supporters at Wembley. Lacroix has become a firm favourite at Selhurst Park and wants to repeat the celebration he performed against Manchester City in December when he scored his only goal for the club and dropped to one knee in prayer. 'I hope on Saturday we're going to do it again, because I think Wembley will shake,' he says. 'Our fans are like the 12th man on the pitch. When you play against us, especially in our stadium, the fans are incredible. I heard there's going to be like 35,000 fans. So it's more than our stadium. 'It's going to be hard for us against Villa. It's difficult when you play against these guys because they will push us. But [the fans] give us a new energy when it's difficult on the pitch. When you hear them, they push you, you want to give everything for them.'
