“We produce cars, not words.” While protests against Stellantis take place in Mirafiori targeting the banners hung on the gates of the production hub, the president of the Italian-French Group – “Elkann, if Turin is central, you have to prove it” – and the Algerian ambassador to Italy, Mohamed Khelifi, inadvertently add weight by revealing that the controversial (feared to be a precursor to relocation) Stellantis scouting operation last February 2 to bring the Italian Fiat supply chain factories – especially Piedmontese ones – to Algeria, known as “Stellantis Algeria meets Turin companies,” not only continues quietly but will also have a second round right after the summer.
THE AMBASSADOR’S WORDS ALARM THE ITALIAN SUPPLY CHAIN
The Algerian diplomat told Agenzia Nova : “On September 7, we will organize a second round of the Turin event in Algiers. We must increase the percentage of assembly and local production of vehicles with Italian partners,” adding that land has already been identified in the Oran area intended to host any Italian companies interested in investing in the project.
Khelifi assures that the model promoted by Algiers “does not represent a relocation,” but a complementary and mutually beneficial industrial cooperation for both economies: “We work together in the interest of both parties,” but Stellantis’ moves in North Africa are being closely watched on this side of the Mediterranean, also because in the recent period they seem to have intensified.
ALL STELLANTIS INVESTMENTS IN NORTH AFRICA
According to what was communicated by the news agencies last month, Stellantis has big plans both for the Moroccan center in Casablanca and for the Algerian plant in Tafraoui, near Oran – owned by the Italian Fiat brand – aiming in the latter case to increase annual production capacity from 90,000 to 135,000 vehicles by 2028.
Since its launch in December 2023, production has grown very rapidly, rising from 17,000 units in 2024 to 53,000 in 2025. With the new strategic investment, according to the Italian-French Group, over 1,000 direct and indirect jobs will be created and it will offer new opportunities to Algerian suppliers and industrial partners, strengthening local integration and the development of the national automotive industry. The Turin press has already nicknamed it the “Mirafiori of Oran.”
According to what was previously announced, Fiat intends to market in Algeria the Fiat 500 Hybrid, Fiat 500X, Fiat Tipo, Fiat Doblò, Fiat Scudo, and Fiat Ducato: the cornerstone of the project is the Oran – Tafraoui hub, which secured the production of four of the six models, starting with the 500 Hybrid and the Doblò. All through an initial investment of 200 million euros.
Last September, Stellantis Algeria presented the Grande Panda, which holds the record of being the first locally produced vehicle in CKD format (complete knock-down kit of completely disassembled spare parts assembled on site) always at the Tafraoui plant.
At the same time, as anticipated above, Stellantis has been nurturing ambitious projects for Morocco for some time. A few weeks ago, rumors also circulated in the specialized press reiterating how the country is becoming a new hub for the main Italian brand, alongside or even largely replacing the plants in Eastern Europe, also through the possible realization (yet to be confirmed) right in North Africa of some of the next Stellantis cars: the futuristic Fiat Grizzly and Koala.
ITALIAN CONCERNS
Back in Italy, Stellantis’ enthusiasm for North Africa clashes with the steady decline in production at Italian plants. In January, Quattroruote headlined: “Car production in Italy returns to levels of 70 years ago.” Echoing this was Il Sole24Ore: “Stellantis, Italian production down 20% in 2025. Mirafiori the only growth.”
Such headlines, grounded in reality, translate into months if not years of layoffs (in 2025 Mirafiori marked the milestone of 18 years in layoffs) and the industrial desertification of suppliers that sprouted over the years around the plants where Fiat, Lancia, Alfa Romeo, and Maserati were produced. “The loss of 500 companies and 35,000 jobs in recent years is not just a statistic, but an open wound in our social fabric,” the alarm so far ignored by both management and the political world of the provincial secretariats of Fim, Fiom, Uilm, together with Fismic, Ugl, and Quadri.
IS MIRAFIORI RESTARTING?
In recent months, Stellantis has promoted in particular the restart of the Turin hub. “Mirafiori revs up with the hybrid 500: 100,000 vehicles in 2026 and 400 hires,” perhaps overly enthusiastically reported TGR Piemonte. It was in good company: “Fiat 500 Hybrid, the rebirth at Mirafiori, today everything restarts, very quickly: the price is 17,000 euros,” reported Automoto.it.
After the enthusiasm for those hires, which, noted with a hint of malice by Corriere della Sera, had not been seen locally for 30 years, doubts and fears remain in the city: “One model more than the electric 500 is not enough to avoid Turin’s decline. The city is dying,” vented Ansa reporter Gianni Mannori, head of Fiom in Mirafiori. “We chose two nerve centers: the Automobile Museum because there are productions of the past, but we want Mirafiori to make those of the future, and Gate 5 to tell Elkann that we want not only words but cars. The family must prove that Turin is still central as it was in the past.”
Similar protests multiply in various Italian Group plants. In mid-March, the white, gray, and red overalls of Stellantis workers in Cassino, one of the most troubled hubs (by that date, since the beginning of the year, it had accumulated barely 15 working days), had stopped work in solidarity with Trasnova and supply chain colleagues, who can no longer wait for the Italian-French Group to reinvest in Italy.
MEANWHILE, STELLANTIS MAKES OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS: E-CAR IN POMIGLIANO
The company, for its part, in recent hours has tried to respond by announcing that the E-Car project will be carried forward from 2028 in Pomigliano d’Arco which, according to Fim-Cisl data, in 2025 recorded a new halt, equal to 21.9% compared to the already not reassuring numbers of 2024, with a total production of 131,180 vehicles.
It is not known whether the production of small, compact, innovative, and economically accessible electric vehicles will be decisive. Battery car sales data do not promise anything good, but the situation could change in the next two years. Moreover, the project could receive subsidies from Brussels, as Ursula von der Leyen has tried to relaunch the community industry by speaking precisely of a plan for “E-Cars”.
UNEXCITED UNIONS
Workers’ representatives welcomed the announcement (. “At full capacity, this should finally allow us to reach full employment of all personnel”) but remain cautious: “The fact remains that the timing is still long and the uncertainties many, especially regarding the impact on the supply chain, which urgently needs new workloads and solid prospects,” write Fim Fiom, Uilm, Fismic, UglM and AqcfR. “For this reason, we ask for full and continuous involvement, with a detailed discussion on every phase of the project and its employment and industrial effects.”
The unions then announced that the company is not yet ready to present an operational plan for the Cassino plant: “We ask for a very strong commitment as we will not accept the closure of any Italian site.” The feeling, in short, is that it is the proverbial drop in the ocean, but to know the future of all Stellantis Italian plants, we will have to wait just 48 hours: on May 21, in fact, the company will unveil the first industrial plan of the Filosa era.
