Italian deputy prime minister Matteo Salvini fuelled tensions between the government and Stellantis Sunday, amid a row over automobile production costs and incentives in Italy.
Salvini’s far-right League party said it would demand answers in parliament about how much public money the world’s fourth-largest carmaker has received and how many workers have been laid off.
It followed claims by Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares Friday that producing cars in Italy was too expensive due to energy costs, and that greater demand for electric vehicles would only come through bold incentives.
Salvini’s League said it was “launching Operation Truth” against Stellantis.
It demanded to know “how much public money the group has collected over the years, how many Italian workers have been laid off or suspended, and how many factories have been opened abroad”.
On Saturday Salvini, who is also transport minister, said Tavares “should be ashamed and apologise” for “mismanaging an historic Italian company”.
Stellantis is the result of the merger in 2021 of France’s Peugeot-Citroen and Italian-American company Fiat-Chrysler.
Tensions have been mounting for several months between the government of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Stellantis, with Rome accusing the multinational of relocating its production to low-cost countries to the detriment of Italian factories.
The government in September decided to withdraw European Union funds intended for an electric car battery “gigafactory” over uncertainty over the time-table of the project from ACC — a joint venture including Stellantis, Mercedes and French oil and gas giant TotalEnergies.
Italy is still very attached to combustion engine cars and the automaker lobby is a powerful one.
The industry is facing a 2035 EU deadline to phase out new sales of petrol-powered cars — a ban Meloni’s government, which includes the League party, tried and failed to block.