Italy has been engaging in discussions with Tesla and three prominent Chinese carmakers as part of its efforts to attract another manufacturer and achieve an annual output target of 1.3 million vehicles, Industry Minister Adolfo Urso revealed on Wednesday.
“We’re having positive feedback,” Urso stated during a parliamentary hearing regarding the ongoing talks.
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Stellantis, the parent company of Fiat and Alfa Romeo, stands as Italy’s primary automaker, producing approximately 750,000 vehicles in the country last year, including 520,000 passenger cars and 230,000 vans.
Urso noted that Rome had been in communication “for months” with Tesla, suggesting that the American electric vehicle manufacturer would need to revise its plans for Europe.
Furthermore, the Italian government has been in discussions with three major Chinese automakers, whose representatives visited Italy last year to explore potential investment opportunities.
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Tesla’s Elon Musk visited Rome in December, where he spoke at a political event organized by Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s Brothers of Italy party.
Urso emphasized the need for Italy to produce at least 1.3 million vehicles annually, comprising one million passenger cars and 300,000 vans, to safeguard its national auto industry amid the challenges of transitioning to electric mobility.
“We are aware that it is impossible for Stellantis alone to reach the target of one million cars produced in Italy,” Urso stated.
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The government and Stellantis are currently in talks to restore the company’s output in Italy to one million units in cars and vans per year by the end of the decade, a level last achieved in 2017.
Bloomberg News reported this week that Italy had also contacted BYD, a Chinese EV maker, as part of its efforts to attract a second producer to the country. However, a source from BYD clarified that the talks were not recent and occurred during the group’s assessment for its first European plant, which was eventually built in Hungary. BYD has not yet disclosed any plans for a second plant in Europe.
