Stellantis recalls 44,000 UK vehicles over fault that could cause fires

The European carmaker Stellantis has issued a recall for 44,000 UK vehicles after discovering a fault that could result in its cars catching fire.The fault has been found in certain models across its Peugeot, Citroën, DS Automobiles, Vauxhall, Lancia, Alfa Romeo, Jeep and Fiat brands, produced between 2023 and 2026. Key vehicles affected by the recall include the Citroën C3, Peugeot 208 and Vauxhall Mokka.The manufacturer said the issue related to a lack of clearance between the gas filter pipe and a component of the belt starter generator, which could cause water to leak into the engine bay during wet driving conditions. That created a “potential risk of fire” in the engine, in the worst-case scenario.In a statement, Stellantis said it was voluntarily recalling an estimated 44,000 vehicles in the UK in response, and would immediately contact affected car owners asking them to contact their dealer to schedule an appointment, adding that the service would be offered free of charge.It is the latest setback for the vehiclemaker, which in February was forced to take a €22bn (£19.1bn) charge and sell a stake in its battery joint venture after admitting that it “overestimated” the pace of the shift to electric vehicles. The move means the company has been forced to cancel its previously planned Ram 1500 BEV, an electric truck it had claimed was “set to push boundaries”.While sales of electric vehicles in Europe have soared, demand in the US has collapsed after the Trump administration withdrew a $7,500 (£5,527) consumer tax credit, and is looking to remove regulations aimed at curbing car emissions.Stellantis is now planning to sell its 49% stake in its battery joint venture in Canada with NextStar Energy to South Korea’s LG Energy Solution, and said it would not be paying a dividend to shareholders in 2026. Analysts expect that the company will still have to consider factory closures and a reduction in output.News of Stellantis’ recall came as rival Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) revealed a recovery in sales over the past quarter, as it restarted production after last autumn’s damaging cyber-attack. The incident forced the company to halt production across its UK factories for five weeks from last September and weighed on its full year sales.JLR, the UK’s largest car manufacturer, which is owned by India’s Tata, said it sold 95,300 vehicles to dealers in the three months to 31 March, a 61.1% jump on the previous quarter.However, quarterly sales to dealerships were still down 14.5% during the same period a year earlier, a drop that it blamed on the cyber incident, US tariffs, market challenges in China and the planned wind down of some legacy Jaguar models.