The long-awaited discussion with the government on the future of Mirafiori has arrived. The president of the Region Alberto Cirio and the mayor of Turin Stefano Lo Russo, together with the regional councilor for Labor Elena Chiorino, met this morning with the Minister of Business and Made in Italy Adolfo Urso in Rome. An hour and a half of talks, also in the presence of representatives of Stellantis, Anfia (National Association of the Automotive Industry) and the trade unions, concluded with a single request: “We ask that there be at least one new car model in Mirafiori made in Turin – declared Minister Urso – which responds to the needs of the Italian market”. Stellantis, through the words of Davide Mele, head of corporate affairs in Italy, reiterated: “Turin, with Mirafiori and all of Piedmont, is, and it will also be so in the future, the city or the Region from which everything starts, the beating heart of decisions that are not limited only to our country but which involve all of Stellantis’ global activity”. And if “the incentives promised by the government and still awaited” are expected for the production of more models, the moves to keep Mirafiori at the center of the Stellantis galaxy continue to go in other directions. Like the Battery Technology Center and the Circular Economy Hub, already inaugurated, and the long-awaited Green Campus. Last but not least, the launch of the site for the production of elements for electrified gearboxes, which will employ over 500 workers, announced this morning.
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The two fronts of Turin: 200 thousand cars produced and engineering management in Turin
For the first time the local authorities are before the national government. The ministry listened to them and made them its own: the axis between the national government and Turin’s institutions starts from here. With the main objective which is the same as declared at yesterday’s Turin roundtable, at Palazzo Civico: to reach at least 200 thousand cars produced in the plant. This is also why “the electric 500 or the Maserati – which are also reducing production – which are essentially aimed at the foreign market” are not enough, specifies the minister.
In the document delivered by Cirio and Lo Russo to the ministry, the result of the discussion that took place yesterday at the Turin table on Mirafiori with the trade unions, trade associations and the Chamber of Commerce, the emphasis is placed not only on the centrality of the Piedmontese automotive industry, but also on the need for Turin and Piedmont to maintain the group’s research and design brain, “strengthened by the excellent skills of the entire supply chain”. The engineering management must remain in Turin. The inauguration in September by Stellantis of the Battery Technology Center goes in this direction, a place where the components of the batteries intended for electric vehicles are tested and developed. And the circular economy hub in November, which deals with the regeneration of engines, gearboxes and batteries for high voltage electric vehicles, the reconditioning and dismantling of vehicles. And again the announcement of the Green Campus, the place where around 10 thousand white-collar workers will be concentrated (by the end of 2026) divided into three macro areas: finance, design activities and research/development. Last but not least, this morning’s announcement: next week the site for the production of elements for electrified gearboxes will be launched in Mirafiori which will employ over 500 workers.
The new Mirafiori is born, Elkann and Tavares inaugurate the circular economy hub Claudia Luise 23 November 2023
Cirio: “Now we need one more step”. Lo Russo: “Investments attract young talents”
The latter are steps also remembered by the President of the Region Alberto Cirio: «The European recycling hub, the Battery Center and the center for next week’s transmissions are worth around a thousand employees in total», he recalled. “The one started on Mirafiori is a path that has allowed us to obtain important results, but now it is a question of taking one step further”. We need a new vehicle to be produced in Mirafiori “to reach 200 thousand cars a year. We work in this logic with a constructive approach: we ask Stellantis for commitments on this and we are available to collaborate, as we did for the recycling hub”. «Today’s meeting – declares the mayor of Turin Stefano Lo Russo – is part of a process that aims to make the investments of the Stellantis group synergistic as part of a single strategy, that of reiterating that the automotive sector does not it is only an integral part of Turin’s identity but an opportunity for further growth”. The mayor then reiterated that investments in the engineering sector are “strategic not only to attract but also to retain young talents in the area in a context which is also grappling with a profound demographic crisis”.
Apples (Stellantis): “After a year the incentives are still not operational”
Davide Mele, corporate affairs manager of Stellantis in Italy present at the table on Mirafiori at Mimit, after reiterating the central role of Turin, added: “Last February 1st, after a year of gestation, new important incentives for the development were announced of the automotive sector in Italy and we immediately congratulated the Ministry of Business and Made in Italy but, to date we are still not certain when these measures will actually be operational”. In the meantime, the market “continues to lose steam”, in a scenario that has a significant impact “on our Italian plants, and in particular Mirafiori”. “This – urged Mele – is the time to all act together and implement the necessary actions to make this transformation possible and sustainable”. But Stellantis remains “convinced that we have created the capacity to guarantee our factories a future suited to the common ambition of one million vehicles”.
Maserati at Mirafiori, Stellantis confirms the production of the sedan in Turin claudia luise 11 October 2023