MILAN (Reuters) -Stellantis CEO announced on Monday 400 new hires in Italy and confirmed plans to ramp up output in the country while warning that European Union rules to cut carbon emissions need to be changed to support car production in the region.
Antonio Filosa, who met Italian unions in Turin in one of his rare appearances since he took the CEO job in June, said Fiat maker Stellantis would employ the new workers at its Mirafiori complex to support a production increase of the new hybrid Fiat 500.
He reiterated his criticism of EU climate regulation, including a 2035 ban on new petrol-powered vehicles.
“Having EU imposed such stringent targets in such a short period of time has displaced both supply and demand,” he was quoted as saying by a company spokesman.
“We need to change the rules and offer customers the full range of vehicles they want and can afford,” he said.
The meeting with unions, also attended by Stellantis’ new Europe chief Emanuele Cappellano, focused on the plan the group presented in December for Italy, which, however, is not expected to bring benefits to local plants before next year.
“The Italian Plan is solid and confirmed,” Filosa told unions.
In the first nine months of 2025, Stellantis’ Italian output fell 32% to 265,500 vehicles, according to union FIM-Cisl.
Full-year production is expected to drop to just over 310,000 units, including fewer than 200,000 passenger cars, below last year’s 283,000, the lowest in nearly 70 years.
Filosa said Stellantis-backed battery firm ACC was still evaluating whether to proceed with plans to build a plant in Italy, with the final decision due by the end of this year.
“In the event of a negative decision, we are working on a plan B to protect our employees,” he said.
(Reporting by Giulio PiovaccariEditing by Tomasz Janowski)
