According to Reuters, the Italian Economic Minister of Economy Giancarlo Giorgetti released this month’s budget show that Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni plans to cut about 4.6 billion euros of 5.8 billion euros in the Italian automotive industry from 2025 to 2030 from 2025 to 2030. (About $ 5 billion), the move has caused widespread criticism.
This budget will be approved by the Italian Parliament by the end of December, and it may still be changed before that. It is reported that most of the reduced subsidies were concentrated between 2028 and 2030. The Italian government plans to reduce the subsidy funds of 2.4 billion euros in the automotive industry during this period.
On October 28, the Italian Automobile Industry Association (ANFIA) stated in a statement: “The Italian government’s plan to reduce the funds of the automotive industry support funds is unexpected and difficult to accept. And the important job that is carried out runs off. “”
ANFIA executive director Gianmarco Giorda said: “There are many problems in the current automotive industry, including the slowdown in the transformation of electrification, weak European market demand, and decline in Italy.
The Italian Minister of Industry Adolfo Urso said in a statement that he is committed to ensuring the help of the car supply chain to respond to the challenge of green transformation. Adolf Ulso added: “All resources will be put into production investment, the focus is on the field of automobile parts, which is the real strength of Italy.”
The Italian government announced in 2022 that it will allocate 8.7 billion euros by 2030 to support the Italian automotive industry. However, now, due to the slowdown in global electric vehicle sales (partly because of the differences in electric vehicle incentive policies), global automakers such as Stellandis have to adjust the electric vehicle plan. The latest budget of the Italian government is also introduced in this context.
It is reported that the reduction of the subsidy may also exacerbate the tension between Italy and its only large car manufacturer Stellandis.
For a long time, the Italian government has severely criticized Stellandis’ output in Italy, and has shifted some historic Italian brands (such as Fiat, Blue Banner, and Alpha Romeo) to foreign countries.
Stellandis said that it is discussing with the Italian government to restore its output in Italy to 1 million vehicles, but it also depends on the Italian government’s support, including car purchase incentive measures.
At a Italian parliament hearing earlier this month, Carlos Tavares, CEO of Stellandis, also argued that Italy was far lower than other major EU countries to support the automotive industry.
In addition, Volkswagen Volkswagen, the largest car manufacturer in Europe, stated that it plans to close at least three German factories and reduce tens of thousands of employees. This highlights the current challenges facing the European automobile industry.