Stellantis warned on Monday that a shortage of an electronic component used in an engine control unit was causing “significant” disruption to production of some Fiat models in Italy, including one of its most popular models, the Pandina small car.

The shortage from a chip supplier affected sales in October and could cause further issues, including production stoppages, through November and December at the Pomigliano plant that produces the Pandina and a facility in Mirafiori that manufactures the Fiat 500, Stellantis said.

Factories in Italy making engine components, including a Termoli facility that assembles the N3 GSE engine used in the Pandina and the 500, could also be affected, the company said.

Supply-chain woes

The Mirafiori plant is currently in the midst of a three-week production stoppage that began in mid-October due to a separate component shortage.

Stellantis and other automakers previously experienced acute and lingering chip shortages caused by the Covid-19 pandemic that began in early 2020.

Currently, chipmakers are experiencing a capacity crunch due to overwhelming demand for AI data centre components, including memory and storage chips.