Stellantis plans to turn Italian factory into an electric car hub

Stellantis NV is seeking to retool its iconic Turin factory into an EV hub, moving production of two Maserati luxury models to the Mirafiori plant as part of a decision that will safeguard jobs in the electric vehicle shift.

Stellantis, which was formed from the merger of PSA Group and Fiat Chrysler earlier this year, will in future make the Maserati Ghibli and Quattroporte sedans at Mirafiori, shifting from the nearby site of Grugliasco, the people said, declining to be named discussing private information. The carmaker will allocate more electrification-related activities to Mirafiori, the people said. 

A spokesman for Stellantis declined to comment on the plan. The decision also marks the end of full car manufacturing at the Grugliasco plant less than a decade after it started production of Maserati cars.

The manufacturer is discussing the strategy Monday at a meeting with Italian unions at the Economic Development Ministry in Rome. Earlier this year, Stellantis weighed a plan to rejigger output at the Melfi plant in southern Italy to make electric cars.   

Italy’s government has sought assurances from Stellantis that Italy will remain one of the main countries where it builds cars as the EV shift jeopardizes thousands of manufacturing jobs. Stellantis, which will build its third European battery plant in the country, last month finalized plans for Daimler AG to join its European battery venture. 

The Mirafiori facility in Turin is the historic center of Fiat SpA, employing some 50,000 workers in its heyday in the 1970s, when it used to produce more than 600,000 cars a year. 

The plant manufactures the electric Fiat 500 and some Maserati models, including its Levante SUV. Italian newspaper La Repubblica reported Saturday that Stellantis could increase production of the Fiat 500 at Mirafiori by moving some volumes there from a site in Poland.