Peugeot’s oil-bathed belt engine plant to close after 57 years

Stellantis will close the Douvrin engine plant in northern France on October 30, 2026, after 57 years. The decision, announced on July 20, closes the cycle of the unit that, in the last two decades, has become the address of the 1.2 PureTech — the engine that has become the group’s biggest image crisis in Europe.

The plant began operating in 1969, as a result of an association between Peugeot and Renault, and was born to produce the so-called X engine, which equipped Renault 14, Peugeot 104 and 205, Citroën Visa and C15 and the Talbot Samba Rallye.

Then came the V6 PRV, used in a long list of high-end French models and also in the DeLorean from “Back to the Future”, the four-cylinder family that bore the name of the city and the PSA engines. Douvrin also assembled the EP engines, the Prince, developed in partnership with BMW and present in Peugeot and Citroën – from the EP6 Turbo of the DS3 Racing to the 270 hp version that equipped the Peugeot 308 GTI and the RCZ R.

The PureTech engine

In 2012, the three-cylinder EB, the 1.2 PureTech, designed with an oil-bathed timing belt, came online. The solution promised less friction and lower consumption, but the belt degraded in contact with the lubricant, and the residues compromised the lubrication of the engine. The oil consumption and reliability problems stemmed from design and usage patterns such as constant stoppage transit, rather than from plant operation. The answer came in recalls, warranty extension in Europe and, as of 2023, a generation with a timing chain instead of the belt.

In recent months, the unit produced only the EB2, the 1.2 already with chain, applied in the group’s combustion and hybrid models — a version that is no longer sold in Western European countries. The 1.5 BlueHDi, another engine with a tarnished reputation, had left Douvrin last year.

Two factors explain the closure. The first is that the successor to the 1.2 PureTech, a new 1.2 turbo with which Stellantis intends to close the matter, will be manufactured in Trémery, near Metz. The second is the electrification of the surroundings: the industrial region has come to be called the “vallée de la batterie”, in analogy to Silicon Valley, and next to Douvrin there is the ACC gigafactory, which supplies the batteries of the Peugeot e-3008 and e-5008. The plant is expected to be converted to the production of cells, although the automaker has not confirmed the fate of the property.

On the human side, Stellantis has moved 340 employees to the neighboring battery operation and replaces another 330 through transition plans. Just under 50 permanent employees and about 50 part-time employees remain without a defined destination and would need requalification to keep up with the new production chain.

The engine that stamped Douvrin’s recent history, however, does not die with the factory: the Tychy plant in Poland continues to produce the 1.2 PureTech and should keep it in line for a few more years, destined for markets outside Western Europe.