By Giuseppe Fonte and Giulio Piovaccari
ROME (Reuters) – Stellantis (NYSE:) will keep all of its Italian factories open and increase output from 2026 thanks to the launch of new models, the head of the carmaker’s European operations said on Tuesday.
Italian Industry Minister Adolfo Urso also pledged that Italy would spend more than 1 billion euros ($1.05 billion) next year to support its struggling automotive sector, drawing a line under months of fraught relations with Fiat-maker Stellantis.
Urso was hosting a meeting in Rome with representatives of Stellantis, suppliers and trade unions to seal a deal to revive Italian automotive production.
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, the chief of the firm’s European operations told the meeting.
Jean-Philippe Imparato also said the Jeep Compass, Lancia Gamma and DS7 — three mid-sized models scheduled to start production at the southern Italian plant of Melfi from 2025 — will be made in both fully electric and hybrid versions.
The mood between Stellantis, the parent company of Fiat (BIT:) and Alfa Romeo, and Italy’s right-wing government has rapidly improved following this month’s abrupt resignation of Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares.
Italian politicians repeatedly accused Tavares of neglecting historic manufacturing sites in the country and moving production of new Fiat and Alfa Romeo models abroad.
Stellantis is the sole major automaker in Italy, where it employs around 40,000 people.
Automotive output in Italy — of both passenger cars and vans — is expected to fall below 500,000 vehicles this year, according to estimates of FIM-Cisl union, from 751,000 in 2023.
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