Here’s how Tavares tries to pamper the Italian Stellantis plants
After some worrying statements by Tavares on the cost of production in Italy, Stellantis tries to calm the spirits by announcing news in the Pratola Serra and Melfi plants. All the details
Accelerate and brake by Stellantis in Italy.
In a recent interview on the industrial repercussions of the transition to electric mobility, the CEO of Stellantis (fourth largest car manufacturer in the world), Carlos Tavares, had made some notable statements about Italy.
COST TOO MUCH TO PRODUCE IN ITALY?
Referring to the higher price of technologies for electric vehicles compared to traditional ones, he spoke of the need to increase productivity and "limit the impact of additional costs". He specified that he did not want to close factories in Europe, but also added that “we […] must remain competitive”. It said that Italy has a production cost "significantly higher, sometimes double, compared to factories in other European countries, despite a lower labor cost": "the organization of production, which goes improved ”and“ oversized ”energy prices.
CONFIRMATION IN AVELLINO
However, on a visit to the Stellantis (ex-FCA) plant in Pratola Serra, Campania, Tavares confirmed that the B.B2 engine will be produced on the site: it is a Euro VII diesel engine (the latest European standard on polluting emissions ) which will be mounted on commercial vehicles of the Ducato, Peugeot and Opel brands. The choice of the Pratola Serra plant is primarily due to the satisfactory relationship between production costs and the quality of the result. The relative proximity to the Sevel hub (light commercial vehicle brand) in Atessa will probably also have influenced.
THE HYBRID JEEP IN MELFI
Stellantis has also reached an agreement with the trade unions to increase the shifts at the Melfi plant in Basilicata from fifteen to seventeen: it is the most important Italian automotive assembly center. Jeep, a brand of the Stellantis group famous for off-road vehicles, has launched new hybrid versions of the Compass and Renegade models.
THE ASSURANCE OF STELLANTIS IN LA STAMPA
Xavier Chereau, head of human resources at Stellantis, was interviewed by La Stampa , the newspaper of the GEDI publishing group, which shares the same president with the car manufacturer: John Elkann .
The interview probably served to reassure Italian workers after Tavares' claims. Because Chereau defines Italy as “a pillar of Stellantis' corporate strategy”, which – he adds – is working “to guarantee the future of all Italian sites by improving their performance”.
Continuing to polish the words of the CEO, Chereau declares that "a year ago we discovered that the cost of producing a car in Italy was indeed higher, sometimes double that of other European countries, and this despite a lower cost of labor. This is why we have signed some agreements with the trade unions on performance ”.
He assured that "there is no bad news on the horizon", in terms of plant closures and mass layoffs. “That's why we started transforming the plants”.
THE GIGAFACTORY OF TERMOLI
Regarding the battery factory in Termoli , Molise – Stellantis' third in Europe, in addition to the two planned for North America -, Chereau informed the press that discussions with the government are underway.
This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/smartcity/stellantis-stabilimenti-italia/ on Fri, 21 Jan 2022 15:27:54 +0000.