Stellantis has been at odds with the Italian government for its lack of support in EV adoption and not backing home-grown brands Fiat and Alfa Romeo. But now Italy says it is open to buying a stake in Stellantis, Reuters reports. It is discussing the same model that France is using for Renault.
Italy has some of the oldest and most polluting cars in Europe, and one of the lowest rates of EV adoption on the continent. But the government wants to change that - not that it has much choice, as the EU's climate plan should force a change anyway. Italy wants to invest 950 million euros to encourage people to ditch their gas or diesel cars for electric ones - but it hasn't happened yet and still has to go through the approval process. And Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares says that's not good enough.
Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, in turn, has criticised Stellantis for moving production to lower-cost countries, leaving Italian workers behind as the car industry struggles to adapt to electric vehicles. Italy's Industry Minister Adolfo Urso has said that Italy could follow the French model and take a majority stake in Stellantis.
Meanwhile, Stellantis says it has seen little government support for its home-grown EVs, namely the Fiat 500 e. The Mirafiori plant recently saw a round of temporary layoffs due to "sluggish demand".
In addition, the Italian government wants Stellantis to increase its annual production in Italy to 1 million vehicles, up from around 750,000 last year, which the carmaker has reportedly agreed to. But in order for that to happen, something will have to happen.
Source: Reuters
