Italy to offer defunct Stellantis brands to Chinese automakers, report says
12/07/2024 10:47
ROME, July 12 (Reuters) - Italy's government is
considering taking over by decree defunct auto brands owned by
Stellantis STLAM.MI , and offering them to Chinese companies to
encourage them to set up factories in Italy, Il Sole 24 Ore
daily reported on Friday.
The plan would involve the Innocenti and Autobianchi brands,
both shut down in the 1990s.
Innocenti was famous in the 1960s and 1970s for producing an
Italian version of the British Mini, before it was taken over by
Fiat, now part of Stellantis. Former Fiat unit Autobianchi
produced upmarket city cars such as the A112 and Y10.
The newspaper said Italy's industry minister has registered
versions of the two brands at the national patents and brands
office, using different graphics from those registered by the
Stellantis group.
The industry ministry, which according to the report is
studying the move, was not available for comment. Stellantis
told Reuters it had seen the media reports but had not been
informed by the government about any such plans.
Il Sole said the government's appropriation would be made
possible under a law passed in December and a draft implementing
decree, under examination by the Court of Auditors, concerning
brands that have been unused for at least five years.
Once under government control, they could be given to
"companies, including foreign ones, that intend to invest in
Italy or move to Italy manufacturing activities located abroad,"
the law says.
Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's nationalist government has
for months been at loggerheads with Fiat-parent Stellantis,
accusing the automaker of neglecting its historic production
bases in Italy.
It is engaged in talks with the group, the country's sole
major automaker, to boost Italian production to 1 million
vehicles per year, but also said it wants to expand the domestic
industry by attracting a Chinese automaker to Italy.
On Thursday, Fiat unveiled at its historic Turin
headquarters in northern Italian its Serbian-made Panda model
and celebrated its 125th anniversary. Industry Minister Adolfo
Urso, who attended the event, again urged Stellantis to relaunch
its manufacturing activities in Italy.
(Reporting by Alvise Armellini, additional reporting by
Giuseppe Fonte and Giulio Piovaccari, editing by Barbara Lewis)
((alvise.armellini@thomsonreuters.com;))