According to media reports, two sources familiar with the matter told Reuters that the Italian government is in talks with Chinese automaker Chery Automobile to attract another major car manufacturer into the country besides Stellantis, aiming to initiate new business ventures and increase the country's automotive production.
Currently, Italy's annual automotive production is less than 800,000 vehicles. Italy's Industry Minister Urso previously stated that to maintain Italy's automotive industry amid the transition to electric mobility, Italy needs to produce at least 1.3 million vehicles annually, including 1 million passenger cars and 300,000 commercial vehicles.
Italy has already negotiated with its largest automaker, Stellantis, hoping the company will restore its annual vehicle production in the country to 1 million passenger cars and commercial vehicles by 2030, a level last achieved by Stellantis in 2017.
Meanwhile, Urso acknowledges that relying solely on Stellantis is insufficient to achieve the country's automotive production targets. Therefore, the Italian government has engaged in negotiations with several other automakers. Last month, the country negotiated with Tesla and made contact with three Chinese automakers, whose representatives visited Italy last year to assess potential investment opportunities.
Sources revealed that Chery Automobile is currently the "most interested" and the most heavily bet-on automaker in Italy. If negotiations succeed, Chery would become one of the first Chinese automakers to have production facilities in Europe, intensifying competition with local traditional automakers, especially in the electric vehicle sector.
Jochen Tueting, Managing Director of Chery Europe, told Reuters that Chery expects its sales in Europe to be sufficient to support its local assembly plant. "We are exploring different possibilities across Europe to find potential opportunities to establish manufacturing facilities locally," Tueting said.
According to sources, Chery Automobile is discussing several potential locations in Europe, considering refurbishing existing factories or building a new factory in Italy, but also evaluating other options in Europe, including Nissan's former plant in Barcelona.
Industry experts suggest that establishing production capacity in Italy or Spain, where electric vehicle sales are relatively low, would align with Chery's strategy of simultaneously selling internal combustion engine, hybrid, and pure electric vehicles. The company plans to launch the Omoda and Jaecoo brands in all major European markets. By the end of 2025, Chery plans to introduce three hybrid SUV models for each brand to serve different regions in Europe.
Apart from Chery Automobile, Great Wall Motors and BYD are also reportedly in talks with Italy. Who will be the next automaker to settle in Italy? Let's wait and see.
