Stellantis CEO warns: Chinese EV plant in Italy poses threat, 'we are ready and we will fight'
Stellantis NV Chief Executive Officer Carlos Tavares warned he may have to make “unpopular decisions” if a Chinese electric-vehicle manufacturer were to set up shop in Italy.
Such a move would threaten Stellantis and result in “significant social consequences,” Tavares said Wednesday in Turin. If greater Chinese competition were to cost the company market share, the maker of Fiats and Alfa Romeos may need fewer plants in Italy, the CEO said.
“We are ready and we will fight, but when there’s a fight you may have casualties,” Tavares told reporters. “Don’t expect to come out of the fight without scars.”
The CEO is overhauling Stellantis’s industrial footprint — including with stringent cost reductions — at a time when governments in Europe are trying to protect local industries put at risk by the shift to EVs. In Italy, Stellantis has faced criticism over deliberations to move production to lower-cost countries. Tavares met with local unions Wednesday ahead of a strike planned for Friday to protest the manufacturer’s plans to cut thousands of jobs in the country.
The Italian government, meanwhile, has held discussions with automakers including Tesla Inc. about producing in the country, Industry Minister Adolfo Urso said in February. Rome also contacted China’s BYD Co., an official from China’s leading EV maker said that same month.
Tavares on Wednesday pledged to extend production of Fiat Pandas in southern Italy until 2030 and committed €100 million ($108 million) to develop a more affordable battery for the electric Fiat 500. “We are here to stay,” he said, adding that talk of Stellantis leaving Italy is “fake news.”
The CEO has been relying on cost cuts to make Stellantis leaner and bolster profit, citing pressures from the EV shift as reason to thin workforce in countries including France and the US.
In Italy, Stellantis plans to eliminate around 3,700 jobs, according to the Fiom union. The automaker has declined to comment on the exact number of staff changes but has said any departures will be on a voluntary basis.
EV demand has cratered in Italy since the start of the year, as buyers wait for new subsidies that Rome flagged in late 2023.
“Many promises have been made to Italian consumers to facilitate access to electric vehicles, but despite the promises, the incentives have not yet been released,” Tavares said.
