Italy’s Enterprise and Made in Italy Minister, Adolfo Urso, has threatened to withhold recovery fund money from car giant Stellantis unless it provides answers over delayed projects and investments, as tensions between the company and the ruling government continue to escalate.
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“It’s up to Stellantis to revive the automotive sector in Italy, and we’ve been waiting too long for an answer. The government has done its part, but Stellantis has not,†Urso told the Meeting for Friendship Among Peoples, the highest-level annual Catholic summit, in the northern city of Rimini, on Thursday.
Urso also pointed out that while the government has fulfilled its commitments, including easing Euro 7 regulations and implementing an incentive plan, Stellantis has allegedly failed to meet the agreed target of producing one million cars in Italy.
Questions also remain about the delayed Gigafactory project in Termoli and other key investments.
“Stellantis must provide a response soon. If they don’t respond positively, the Recovery Fund money will be allocated elsewhere. We cannot afford losing these resources because Stellantis fails to meet its commitments. The deadline is just hours away,†Urso warned.
This year, Rome has also openly confronted Stellantis in two high-profile cases over its marketing practices, accusing the company of misleading consumers by promoting vehicles as distinctively Italian when they were manufactured abroad.
In April, for example, the government prevented the company from naming a new Alfa Romeo model produced in Poland, “Milanoâ€, arguing that it would be deceptive to associate the car with an Italian city when it was produced elsewhere.
Meanwhile, in June, after seizing hundreds of vehicles, an Italian judge provisionally ruled that the electric Fiat Topolino, manufactured in Morocco, misled consumers about its origin by displaying Italian flag stickers and bearing the names ‘Topolino’ and ‘Topolino Dolcevita’, which the court said suggested an Italian-made product. ■