Italy: Government ramps up pressure on carmaker Stellantis

Rome: Italian Industry Minister Adolfo Urso this week doubled down on criticism to carmaker Stellantis for not investing enough in the country.

“The government has done its part, the company has not,” Urso said on Thursday evening during an event in Rimini, accusing the company of reducing production and putting jobs at risk.

“It is the duty of Fiat [one of Stellantis’ brands] … to relaunch the car industry in Italy today. And we have been waiting for these answers for far, far too long,” Urso said.

The comments come amid a long-standing spat between the Italian government and Stellantis, the company born in 2021 from the Franco-Italian merger between between Fiat-Chrysler and Peugeot-maker PSA.

Urso confirmed that Italy is courting Chinese carmakers to produce in the country, arguing that “at least another carmaker is needed.”

The Italian government has kept its promises and gave in to all the requests from Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares, Urso argued. That includes putting more money on a publicly-funded purchase bonus, and opposing the EU’s new car pollution rules known as “Euro 7.”

After questioning Tavares’ stellar salary, Urso criticized Stellantis-backed battery maker ACC for putting on hold plans to build a plant in the city of Termoli, and threatened to withdraw subsidies allocated to the project under Italy’s post-pandemic recovery fund.

In a written statement, Stellantis urged the government to “contribute to creating the right conditions for competitiveness, market dynamics and also for tranquility, which are essential for realizing the momentous transition that mobility is experiencing.”

It also said that ACC’s projects to build new plants in Italy and Germay are being updated to keep pace with new battery technologies.