‘Stellantis cuts production at Italy’s Fiat due to weak demand’

Stellantis will significantly reduce its Fiat production in Turin over the next two months due to disappointing sales of the new 500 electric. A spokesperson for Stellantis told Reuters. Production of Maserati models from the Italian brand is also being reduced.

Stellantis is even considering the option of completely ceasing operations at the Mirafiori plant. That could happen if demand weakens further in the coming weeks. The factory will be closed for one day on February 12, and Stellantis will work in shifts for the remainder of the period until March 30.

Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares previously expressed his dissatisfaction with the Italian subsidy, which he considers too low. For example, he told Reuters last month: “Stellantis has been asking the Italian government for the last nine months to support the sale of electric cars.”

Italian government

Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni recently answered questions from journalists following Tavares’ statements. He calls those statements ‘very strange’ during a trip to Japan. “The head of a large company must understand that government subsidies cannot be made for a specific company.”

According to Meloni, Stellantis has previously made choices that are against Italy’s national interest. He believes that Stellantis is focusing on production countries such as France and Poland. “We are always ready and open (to help) with anything that can create jobs in Italy. But if people think that producing in other countries where production costs are lower is better, I can’t say anything,” says Meloni.

Grant fund

Italy has been working on a subsidy package for some time. The package should stimulate the purchase of EVs. The program amounts to approximately 950 million euros. This should give people with low incomes in particular the opportunity to replace their old car with an EV.

In Poland, Stellantis also plans to develop a new generation of software-based cars.