(Bloomberg) -- Stellantis NV keeps slashing vehicle production in Italy, a key market for the automaker’s besieged executive team.
The Fiat and Maserati manufacturer produced just 237,700 cars in the first nine months of this year, according to the FIM-CISL labor union. That’s down 41% from the same period last year and below the depths plumbed in 2020, when plants shut for months following the initial outbreak of Covid-19.
Stellantis is struggling with slowing and more competitive auto markets across Europe, where electric-vehicle demand is waning. Output in Turin — where the company has suspended production of its poorly selling electric Fiat 500 — slumped 68% in the period.
The pullback has dealt a blow to Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, who wants to boost auto production in Italy to 1 million vehicles by 2030. Chief Executive Officer Carlos Tavares has clashed with Rome over EV incentives and the company shifting output to lower-cost countries.
The CEO is scheduled to meet with Italian lawmakers next week about the country’s outlook for automotive production. Unions have called for a national strike on Oct. 18.
“Stellantis is carrying out, with commitment, an open and constructive dialogue and discussion with all stakeholders to address the complex situation of the sector, in Italy and in other markets,” the company said in a statement.
--With assistance from Alberto Brambilla.
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