MILAN (Reuters) – Carmaker Stellantis and the Italian government should be able to reach a final agreement by March 10 to build a battery plant in Italy, a top representative of one of the country’s largest metalworkers unions said on Tuesday.
Stellantis Chief Executive Carlos Tavares said earlier on Tuesday he hoped to announce a deal soon to build the plant in Termoli, southern Italy, after Rome pledged last month to provide 369 million euros ($412 million) of public money.
Italy’s Industry Ministry has called a March 10 meeting with representatives of auto industry companies and unions.
“I trust that the government, by that date, could sign an agreement to build Termoli’s gigafactory,” Gianluca Ficco, UILM’s top representative for the automotive sector, said.
The battery plant would be the third in Europe for Stellantis, after ones already announced in France and Germany.
It will be set up by converting an existing engine facility.
Tavares said the Termoli investment could be similar in size to those planned for the gigafactories in France and Germany, which are being built through ACC, a joint venture Stellantis has with Mercedes-Benz and TotalEenergies.
The total investment for the plants in France and Germany amount to around 2 billion euros each.
UILM’s Ficco said the investment in Termoli would be an important step for Italy.
“It’s the starting point to imagine the future of Italy’s automotive industry amid a transition towards electric mobility,” he said.
Tavares said last year Stellantis was planning to build a battery plant in Termoli as part of its electrification strategy, but a formal deal with Rome has not been signed so far.
($1 = 0.8956 euros)
(Reporting by Giulio Piovaccari Editing by Giulia Segreti and Mark Potter)
