Italy’s car industry faces an existential threat if manufacturers led by Stellantis NV don’t reverse a trend of declining production in the country, according to an automotive trade group.
Stellantis’ passenger-vehicle output in Italy slumped 41% in the first nine months of this year, fueling concerns over potential job losses. Some of the company’s workers are scheduled to join protests in Rome on Friday.
“Our automotive industry can’t survive if output volumes remain this low,” Roberto Vavassori, the head of the Anfia trade group and an executive at braking supplier Brembo, said in an interview. “Many car suppliers in Italy are small and are at risk as well.
Stellantis, which owns the Fiat, Maserati and Alfa Romeo brands, is Italy’s biggest automaker by a large margin. It has cited a slump in electric-vehicle demand, increased competition from Chinese manufacturers and high energy costs as reasons for keeping plants such as Mirafiori, which makes the electric Fiat 500, shuttered for weeks.
Chief Executive Officer Carlos Tavares’s push to produce in lower-cost nations led to repeated clashes with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s government. Italian car production is expected to fall to around 500,000 units this year, from around 750,000 in 2023, according to labor union estimates.
Some unionists from France and the US — a key Stellantis profit driver — are expected to join Friday’s demonstrations in the Italian capital.
“Our jobs are being moved to Mexico and the theme is common, which is why I am going to Rome,” Brandon Campbell, a United Auto Workers representative, said Thursday in an interview at the Paris car show. “Stellantis is closing factories everywhere.”