Stellantis CEO to address Italy parliament as demand for electric car weakens
7:46 am Tuesday, October 01st, 2024
MILAN (Reuters) -Stellantis’ chief Carlos Tavares will address an Italian parliamentary committee next week on the prospects for the carmaker’s production in Italy, the company said on Tuesday, after it warned about poor demand for electric vehicles.
The hearing will take place on Oct. 11, Stellantis said in a statement, after announcing it had extended the suspension of production of its Fiat 500 electric city car until Nov. 1 due to weak orders.
The car is made at Stellantis’ historic Mirafiori plant in Turin, northern Italy. The company previously said production of the model had been stopped until Oct. 11.
Tavares will be able “to provide the most exhaustive picture of the group’s automotive production in Italy,” the statement said. “The complex international and European situation of the automotive sector requires rapid responses,” it added.
A global slowdown in sales of electric vehicles (EVs), partly due to diverging policies on green incentives, has forced automakers worldwide to adjust their EV plans.
In an earlier statement on Tuesday, Stellantis said it had told trade unions the electric car market in Europe is “in deep trouble.”
Despite the temporary halt in output, Stellantis reiterated its plan to invest 100 million euros ($110.93 million) in its Fiat 500e with a high-performance battery, while from early 2026 it will begin producing the new 500 Hybrid.
Earlier this year Italy launched a $1 billion plan to help drivers switch to cleaner vehicles, with subsidies for purchases of fully-electric cars.
($1 = 0.9015 euros)
(Reporting by Cristina Carlevaro, editing by Gavin Jones)
