Stellantis set to sign €1bn deal with Italian Government for battery plant

February 14, 2022: Stellantis and the Italian Government are reportedly close to signing a deal for the automotive manufacturer to build its newest battery plant in the country.

As first reported by Reuters, it's understood the plant will be based in the eastern coastal town of Termoli, with Industry Minister Giancarlo Giorgetti saying the deal is as good as done.

"We are very close to signing the agreement for the gigafactory in Termoli where Stellantis will make batteries. It's a matter of a few days," said Giorgetti.

The Termoli plant will reportedly be one part of Stellantis's global plans to secure 130 gigawatt hours of battery capacity by 2025, expanding to double that figure by 2030.

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The story to here

June 12, 2022: Automotive manufacturer Stellantis is reportedly in talks with the Italian government to build a new battery factory, after previously confirming its interest in creating a new site in either North America or Europe.

According to Reuters, the multi-national and multi-brand automotive manufacturer has been involved in discussions with the Italian government over the past few months to secure funding for the new factory.

Italy has so far taken €600 million (AU$942m) from the EU's Recovery Funds to get the project off the ground, though it's understood further investments totalling €1 billion (AU$1.57bn) are required to build the factory – with some money coming from financial and industrial partners.

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Peugeot's upcoming 308 Hybrid is one of the many future models which can benefit from Stellantis's new battery plants

The Italian government's plan is to build the factory – a 37 gigawatt hours plant with 500 workers – through a public-private partnership scheme, with Stellantis emerging as the largest stakeholder, although other manufacturers are being considered.

Stellantis is currently in the process of building two other battery factories in Germany and France, combining for over €5bn in investments, while Spain is also interested in having the fourth-largest vehicle manufacturer build a plant in their country – though this could come at the expense of the Italian venture.

Created at the start of 2021, Stellantis was born out of a merger between Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) and the PSA group, becoming the world's fourth-largest manufacturer with brands like Peugeot, Jeep, Fiat, Citroen and Alfa Romeo under its umbrella.

Stellantis recently announced one of its manufacturing plants in Mexico would close for seven days over June due to a global shortage of semiconductors, affecting local supply of Jeep, Dodge and Fiat models.