MILAN (Reuters) -Stellantis will assign a new mass-market model to one of its Italian plants as part of a long-term production plan due to be presented on Tuesday to the Italian government, two sources familiar with the matter told Reuters.
Industry Minister Adolfo Urso is due to host a meeting in Rome at 1300 GMT with the automaker, suppliers and trade unions to seal a deal to revive Italian automotive production after months of fraught relations with Stellantis.
The new model could be made either at the Pomigliano d’Arco plant near Naples in southern Italy, or at one in Cassino, south of Rome, the sources said.
The plan will also include a bigger number of hybrid models to be made in Italy by Stellantis, the sources said, as fully electric vehicles are still expected to be produced in small volumes for the next few years.
The mood between Stellantis, the parent company of Fiat and Alfa Romeo, and Italy’s right-wing government has rapidly improved following this month’s abrupt resignation of Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares.
Italian politicians repeatedly accused Tavares of neglecting historic manufacturing sites in the country and moving production of new Fiat and Alfa Romeo models abroad.
(Reporting by Giulio Piovaccari. Editing by Alvise Armellini and Mark Potter)
