The Italian government is in talks with Chinese Chery Auto to increase national car production. Reuters reports this with a link to its sources.
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Rome wants to increase national car production in Italy to 1.3 million cars per year from a level below 800,000 in 2023. Negotiations are currently underway with Stellantis, the country's only major automaker, to increase production to 1 million cars per year by the end of this decade.
In total, the country last produced a million cars a year in 2017.
Industry Minister Adolfo Urso said Italy wants a second manufacturer to add about 300,000 cars to national production.
< p>If negotiations are successful, Chery will become one of the first Chinese automakers with a European production presence, which will increase competition with local manufacturers of traditional cars, especially in the electric vehicle (EV) segment.
Urso said Italy held talks last month with Tesla and three unidentified Chinese automakers whose representatives visited Italy last year to evaluate potential investment opportunities.
One of two Reuters sources said Chery is now the option on which Rome is “betting the most.”
A spokesman for Italy’s industry ministry declined to comment.
Chery Europe managing director Jochen Thueting told Reuters that the Chinese automaker expects sales in Europe will be strong enough to support a local assembly plant.
“We are exploring different opportunities across Europe to find potential local production in the future,” Thueting said.
According to another source, Chery is considering either reconstructing the existing plant or building a new one in Italy, but is also considering other options in Europe, including the former Nissan plant in Barcelona.