(Bloomberg) -- Italian Industry Minister Adolfo Urso said Stellantis NV should make “responsible” choices on jobs for its car plants and for local suppliers as the company unveiled a new Serbian-made Panda.
Urso, speaking at an event in Turin celebrating 125 years of Fiat, said that “we are not resigned to seeing Turin turned into a museum.”
In the Turin plant of Mirafiori, which assembles the electric Fiat 500, production slumped 63% in the first half of the year and will be halted again from July 15 to Aug. 25, two local labor unions said this week.
Urso is worried about preserving jobs after Stellantis’ local car production in Italy fell 36% in the first half of this year. He said earlier this week that he would redirect EV subsidies next year if Stellantis doesn’t bolster local production.
The first of a series of models inspired by the boxy 1980s Panda, the Grande Panda will be available in both electric and hybrid versions. It will be just under 4 meters (13 feet) long, will hold five passengers and the EV will sell for less than €25,000 ($27,200).
Orders for the electric Grande Panda will open as soon as October, and clients will get it early next year, said Fiat brand Chief Executive Officer Olivier Francois. The hybrid version will be available shortly after the EV.
The Grande Panda’s price is key, as the manufacturer tries to fend off low-cost competition from China.
Automakers from Ford to Volkswagen to Renault are developing more affordable electric cars as higher interest rates squeeze consumers and Chinese upstarts ramp up exports. BYD Co. is planning to bring its Seagull hatchback, which sells for less than $10,000 in China, to Europe next year.
It’s much cheaper to produce cars in Serbia than in Italy. Chief Financial Officer Natalie Knight warned in April that slowing demand in Europe would continue to squeeze margins before improving in the latter part of the year.
Stellantis is among manufacturers struggling with waning demand for electric cars after key markets including Germany removed or lowered subsidies. Volkswagen AG said this week it will potentially shutter a high-expense Audi EV factory in Belgium to save costs.
CEO Carlos Tavares said at the Fiat event that Stellantis was making “a new commitment to Italy” with a battery production center, its Mobilisights data center and a new green campus.
In Italy, Tavares’ aggressive cost cutting has come under scrutiny as Rome seeks to protect jobs at risk from the industry’s costly shift to electrification.
The spat already forced Stellantis to rename a new Alfa Romeo model produced in Poland, and to remove Italian flag stickers from Fiat Topolinos assembled in Morocco.
Stellantis shares have fallen 12% since the start of this year.
(Updates with Grande Panda availability details in the sixth paragraph.)
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