Stellantis, one of the largest automotive groups that combines PSA Group and FCA, intends to sell 400,000 plug-in electric cars this year and notes a significant increase in demand for batteries.
According to Bloomberg, Stellantis is considering a new battery investment in Europe to secure battery supplies for its growing lineup of electrified vehicles.
The unofficial sources indicate that a new battery plant could be built in Italy and that the group is in talks with Italy’s government - probably to first secure some incentives, as the large corporations usually like to do.
The location of the new battery gigafactory could be at the Fiat's Mirafiori plant or in its close proximity.
So far, Italy is quite far behind in terms of battery investments, while several other countries already have significant plants up and running.
Stellantis' PSA Group already established a joint venture - Automotive Cell Company (ACC) - with Total (and its battery subsidiary Saft), to build two battery gigafactories - one in France and one in Germany.
Total's Saft is not a large player in the EV battery market and the plants (initially 8 GWh per year) are not particularly big. It would support the rumor that Stellantis and Fiat in particular would look for some additional manufacturing capacity. Italy would be a perfect choice considering that it's a home market for Fiat.
It would not be a surprise to see Stellantis launching some new battery projects - both in Europe and in the U.S. - as this is what the automotive industry is doing right now.
A separate question is who will be the battery partner for the project - one of the global market leaders, or maybe again Saft, to capitalize on the PSA's projects? The battery cells must be competitive after all, so a lot depends on Saft's technology.
See also
Source: Bloomberg