The Minister of Industry of Italy, Adolfo Urso, indicated that the country has been in talks with Tesla and three Chinese carmskers as it seeks to attract another manufacturer and achieve an annual production target of 1.3 million vehicles.
“We are getting a positive response,” Urso said about the discussions.
Moreover, the Minister acknowledged that Rome had been in contact “for months” with Tesla and added that the American electric vehicle manufacturer would have to review its plans for Europe.
Tesla founder Elon Musk was in Rome in December when he spoke at a political meeting organized by Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni‘s party, Brothers of Italy.
The government was also holding talks with three major Chinese car manufacturers, whose representatives visited Italy last year to assess potential investment opportunities.
Bloomberg News quoted Michael Shu, BYD’s general manager for Europe, this week saying that Rome had reached out to the Chinese electric vehicle manufacturer as part of its efforts to attract a second producer to the country.
A BYD source told Reuters that the talks were not recent and occurred when the group was still evaluating options for its first European plant, which it ultimately decided to build in Hungary.
But BYD has not yet announced whether it plans to build a second plant in Europe.
It is worth mentioning that Stellantis, whose brands include Fiat and Alfa Romeo, is Italy’s only major car manufacturer and produced around 750,000 units in the country last year, of which 520,000 were cars and 230,000 were vans.
However, the Minister indicated that Italy needed to produce at least 1.3 million vehicles per year (one million cars and 300,000 vans) to preserve its national automotive industry amid the challenges posed by the transition to electric mobility.
“We are aware that it is impossible for Stellantis alone to reach the goal of producing one million cars in Italy,” he said.
The government and Stellantis are already in talks aimed at restoring production in the country to one million units of cars and vans per year by the end of this decade, a figure last reached in 2017.
Read more: Italy’s leaders vs Stellantis CEO: Incentives for EVs spark new debate
