ROME (Reuters) – Italy hopes to be a central part of Stellantis’ future strategy and wants automaker Fiat to protect factories on its territory, Italian Industry Minister Adolfo Urso said on Saturday.
“There must be an assertive plan for Italy within the Stellantis industrial plan that protects national factories,” Urso said, at an event in Rome ahead of a key meeting on the Italian automotive industry on December 17, also involving unions.
After abruptly taking over as chief executive earlier this month, Roma hopes to mend his strained relations with the company, whose brands also include Alfa Romeo.
Italian politicians have repeatedly accused Tavares of neglecting historic manufacturing sites and moving production abroad.
“There is no more Tavares, he didn’t understand reality,” said Urso at an event for his Irmãos da Itália party.
He said they understood things changed when Stellantis chairman John Elkann called Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni to inform her of the chief executive’s departure.
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Urso said the government wanted Stellantis to pledge “significant financial resources” to ensure Italy maintained a competitive auto industry.
Giuseppe Manca, head of human resources and industrial relations at Stellantis in Italy, joined Urso on the panel dedicated to the automotive sector and said he hoped “good news” could come out of the meeting planned for Tuesday.
