Douvrin Engine Factory Shuts After 57 Years and 40 Million Engines
Stellantis ended all activity at its engine plant in Douvrin, northern France, on 30 October 2026, closing a factory that Peugeot and Renault founded in 1969 as Francaise de Mecanique. The site built more than 40 million engines, from the PRV V6 to the PureTech petrol engine, Le Blog Auto and MotorsActu reported.
Key takeaways
- The Douvrin plant in Pas-de-Calais stopped work on 30 October 2026.
- It opened in 1969 as a Peugeot and Renault joint venture.
- About 1,500 people worked there in 2021; 340 former staff moved to the neighbouring ACC battery plant.
- The last engines built were non-hybrid versions of the EB PureTech three-cylinder.
Five decades of engines
Francaise de Mecanique was created to share engine production between two rivals. Its output included the PRV V6, which also powered the DeLorean DMC-12, and engines for the Renault Twingo and Clio, the Peugeot 104 and 205 and the Citroen C15. Renault sold its stake to PSA in 2013, and from then on the plant built only PSA engines. Around 14,000 people were hired there over its history, and the workforce peaked at about 5,600 to 5,800 in the late 1980s. Trade press puts total output at more than 40 million engines, while regional press cites over 52 million.
Why it closed
Stellantis linked the closure to falling demand for the non-hybrid EB petrol engine, the last product built at Douvrin. The phase-out was announced in 2025, engine assembly stopped in the summer of 2026, and a small machining operation supplying other Stellantis plants ran until the final day. Douvrin had reported to the Valenciennes site, where the closure date was announced at an extraordinary works council meeting in July.
What happened to the workers
According to Stellantis, 337 employees received an internal transfer, outside placement or early retirement plan, and 340 joined the ACC gigafactory on the same industrial park. ACC, a joint venture of Stellantis, TotalEnergies and Mercedes-Benz, opened in 2023 as France's first electric car battery factory and employs about 2,000 people. Remaining staff were offered moves to the Valenciennes and Hordain plants. Stellantis said everyone had a professional solution, while the CGT union called the closure a disguised relocation and a waste of recent investment and trained staff.
What it means for owners
For owners of Peugeot, Citroen, DS and Opel cars with PureTech engines, nothing changes: the closure concerns one factory, and Stellantis still sells hybrid versions of the EB engine, which were not built at Douvrin. The closure marks the end of the plant that produced many of the PSA and Renault petrol engines sold in Europe for five decades, and shows how battery production is replacing engine work at the same industrial sites.
Background reading: the DeLorean DMC-12 and the Peugeot 205.
Sources
- Le Blog Auto: Stellantis, l'usine historique de Douvrin fermera le 30 octobre apres plus de 40 millions de moteurs (18 Jul 2026) (accessed 4 Nov 2026)
- MotorsActu: Stellantis, Douvrin ferme apres 57 ans, 340 anciens salaries sont partis a la gigafactory ACC (Nov 2026) (accessed 4 Nov 2026)
- Car Revs Daily: Stellantis to close historic plant after more than 50 years (2 Nov 2026) (accessed 4 Nov 2026)
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