Rail Market — 2026-07-29
Automotive Industry
DB Cargo Automotive and Stellantis have reorganised their European vehicle logistics network around a smaller number of high-volume rail corridors and regular shuttle services.
The main connections now link Poland with Belgium, Slovakia with Germany and Spain with Germany. The partners are also operating services within France.
DB Cargo transported more than 50,000 Stellantis vehicles in 2025, while the planned volume for 2026 exceeds 80,000 units.
The traffic includes passenger cars such as the Citroën C3 Aircross, Jeep Avenger and Opel Frontera, as well as light commercial vehicles including the Fiat Ducato and Peugeot Boxer.
Regular shuttles replace individual services
The revised model moves away from a larger number of individual routes and instead concentrates volumes on fixed shuttle services. According to DB Cargo, average transit times on the selected corridors are between two and three days.
On the route between Spain and Germany, operational changes have reduced the journey time by approximately half.
DB Cargo is using vehicle transport wagons that can accommodate different vehicle sizes and body types on the same train. This reflects production models in which several Stellantis brands and vehicle types are manufactured at the same plant.
A Stellantis compound in Rüsselsheim also supports the network by providing storage capacity between production and onward transport. The facility allows vehicle flows to be adjusted without relying entirely on external compounds, where available space can be limited.
The current cooperation developed after DB Cargo took over additional Stellantis traffic during a period of capacity shortages, congestion at compounds and disruption around European seaports.
The partners subsequently concentrated the network on routes where larger volumes can support frequent rail services. DB Cargo plans to move more than 80,000 Stellantis vehicles through the system during 2026.