Carmaker Stellantis to pause production at French factories over battery shortage

Sept 29 (Reuters) - Stellantis will pause production at three of its French factories for at least a week, the automaker said on Tuesday, due partly to a shortage of batteries for electric vehicles made at the plants.

The factory in Sochaux in eastern France will shut from October 23 to 30 because of a battery shortage for long-range versions of EVs, the company said in a statement.

"Demand for these versions is strong — particularly among fleet customers — and continues to exceed current supply capabilities. Against this backdrop, we are temporarily adjusting our production schedule to remain aligned with market needs and avoid building up vehicle inventory that does not match customer demand," Stellantis said, adding that it was a one-off measure.

The Rennes factory will also close from October 22 to 30 for the same reason, with the situation particularly affecting the Citroën C5 Aircross, while the Mulhouse plant will halt production from October 15 to 30.

Factory employees were informed of the suspensions earlier on Tuesday.

(Reporting by Mateusz Rabiega in Gdansk and Gilles Guillaume and Dominique Patton in Paris. Editing by Mark Potter)