Fiat owner Stellantis plans to boost manufacturing in Italy

By Giuseppe Fonte and Giulio Piovaccari

ROME (Reuters) - Stellantis (NYSE:STLA ) will keep all of its Italian factories open and increase output from 2026 thanks to the launch of new models, it said on Tuesday, as part of a deal with the government aimed at revitalising Italy's automotive industry.

For its part, Industry Minister Adolfo Urso pledged the government would spend more than 1 billion euros ($1.1 billion) next year to support Italy's automotive supply chain.

Rome does not intend to spend the state cash to subsidise the purchase of cars in 2025, as it did this year.

Urso was hosting a meeting with representatives of Stellantis, suppliers and trade unions to discuss ways to revive Italy's automotive production and draw a line under months of fraught relations with Fiat-maker Stellantis.

The plan ensures all Stellantis plants in Italy will have production allocations until 2032 and it will not require public funds for planned investments, Jean-Philippe Imparato, the chief of the firm's European operations, told the meeting.

He added the automaker would invest 2 billion euros in Italy in 2025 alone. Stellantis is the sole major automaker in Italy, where it employs around 40,000 people.

The mood between Stellantis, whose brands also include Alfa Romeo, Peugeot (OTC:PUGOY ) and Jeep, and Italy's right-wing government has rapidly improved following this month's abrupt resignation of Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares.

PRODUCTION PLANS

Stellantis will produce at least two compact models at its Italian plant of Pomigliano in southern Italy, where the automaker will introduce its new 'STLA Small' platform from 2028, Imparato told the meeting.

On top of this, the group will extend the production of the old Panda city car in Pomigliano until 2030 and assign to the same plant the next generation of the vehicle.

Platforms are the basic architectures of vehicles, which can underpin families of similar-sized cars with different bodies.

Imparato also said the Jeep Compass, Lancia Gamma and DS7 - three of the mid-sized models scheduled to be produced at the southern Italian plant of Melfi, starting from 2025 - will be made in both fully electric (EV) and hybrid versions.

This will help triple expected production volumes for the facility, he said. As demand for EVs remains soft globally, hybrid models are expected to sell in higher numbers.

Imparato added Stellantis would build three large-sized models at its Cassino plant in central Italy, including the new Alfa Romeo Stelvio SUV from next year and the Alfa Romeo Giulia sport sedan in 2026. Initially planned only as EVs, the two models are now also being considered for hybrid versions.

Italian politicians had accused Tavares of neglecting manufacturing sites in the country. The multinational automaker in turn lamented high energy costs in Italy, little government support for EV buyers, and weak recharging infrastructure.



Automotive output in Italy - both passenger cars and vans - is expected to fall below 500,000 vehicles this year, according to estimates from the FIM-Cisl union, from 751,000 in 2023.

($1 = 0.9517 euros)

Source: Investing.com