The German automotive industry is on its knees, and due to an unprecedented slump in sales, automotive giants are cutting working hours and laying off staff. The crisis has even hit the renowned Volkswagen, which is drastically slashing costs, downsizing its workforce, and closing factories.
On the other hand, the picture in Serbia is completely different. Due to increased demand and sales, weekend shifts were introduced just over a month ago at the Kragujevac factory of the multinational company Stellantis.
Grande Panda: Quality and price
Around 500 workers on fixed-term contracts have been hired, bringing the total number of employees to 4,500. In addition to local staff, around 1,000 workers from abroad have also been engaged.
“The Fiat Grande Panda car, which is currently being manufactured in Kragujevac, is exceptionally popular on the European market, especially the hybrid version, both in terms of price and quality. There is a high demand for this car, which is competitive and can rival Chinese electric vehicles. This was a bullseye for the Italian company, which opened the plant in Kragujevac and hired our workers,” Zoran Mihajlović, president of the Confederation of Autonomous Trade Unions of Serbia (SSSS), told Biznis Kurir.
With the subsidies provided by the state for purchasing electric cars, Mihajlović believes that the Fiat Grande Panda will soon be seen more frequently on Serbian streets, once additional charging points for electric vehicles are secured.
“These cars are being sold in Serbia, but not yet to a significant extent. This is more of a city car than one meant for longer journeys. When everything is taken into account, it is highly competitive, and I believe that apart from Europe, it will soon be more widely represented in our market too,” he added.
Ivan Ristić, president of the Autonomous Trade Union of Fiat Automobili Srbija said that the production increase at the Kragujevac factory is continuing.
“Our cars are in demand, and we are currently working on two models across four engine variants: the electric version of the Fiat Panda, the hybrid version, the petrol Fiat Panda, and the electric Citroën C3. Generally, the workers are satisfied, but given the increase in production, we are also hoping for higher wages. We will discuss this with the employer in two or three months when our collective bargaining agreement expires. Production practically has no downtime even on weekends now, following the introduction of those shifts covered by a second cohort of staff who work Saturdays and Sundays while our regular employees rest,” Ristić said.
Weekend shifts
Weekend workers pull 12-hour shifts from Saturday to Sunday and another 12 hours from Sunday to Monday. Their working hours run from 6 pm until 6 am the following morning. There are also workers who wish to increase their hours, meaning they can take on an additional standard 8-hour shift.
Foreign workers in Kragujevac
The “Serbian Detroit”, as Kragujevac is increasingly being called precisely because of the boom in the automotive industry, has also become home to numerous foreign nationals who have come to work at the factory.
“There are two types of workers engaged at the factory – those from our companion companies, meaning Fiat plants in other countries. These are mostly Moroccans who have two-year contracts. We have slightly fewer workers from Italy, Turkey, Spain… The second type is agency workers who came to work and earn money in Serbia, and they mostly come from Pakistan, India, and Nepal. They generally keep to themselves, stay quiet, do their job, and don’t socialise with our locals. They are quite reserved and stick to their own groups. Unlike them, the Moroccans are more open. They are ‘ours’—by which I mean they work in Fiat factories—so the younger ones go out into town with our local lads,” Ristić revealed.
According to earlier announcements, the plan is for 150,000 vehicles to roll off the production lines in Kragujevac annually. The growth of production in Kragujevac is particularly significant at a time when the European automotive industry is undergoing major transformations and facing fierce competition, primarily from electric vehicles and China. It is precisely the competitiveness, excellent quality, and affordable price of the electric Fiat Grande Panda that serve as the Italians’ main trump card on the European market.
Cars and automotive parts already account for between 11 and 15 per cent of Serbia’s total exports, meaning that increased production in Kragujevac could further boost export performance, economic growth, and the citizens’ standard of living.
Exports up by 161 per cent
The economy of Kragujevac recorded strong growth in foreign trade during the first four months of 2026, with exports valued at approximately one billion euros and a surplus of around 373 million euros. The value of exports from Kragujevac increased by about 161% compared to the same period last year, representing one of the best results in recent years.
(Kurir, 20.07.2026)
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