Cars, why Stellantis wants to bring supply chain companies to Algeria

The meeting between Stellantis and a hundred or so companies in the automotive supply chain on 2 February in Turin to assess opportunities in Algeria comes at a very delicate stage for the Italian automotive industry, squeezed between still low production volumes and the crisis that is affecting the whole of Europe's automotive industry, which is in turn grappling with a structurally downsized market with respect to 2019 and an uncertain decarbonisation policy. 'We are implementing the industrial ecosystem in Algeria and we want to offer Italian companies new business opportunities for the Algerian market,' insist the local top management of Stellantis who repeat 'the meeting has nothing to do with relocations or productions made in Algeria to be exported to Europe, but it is about a production model on the Algerian market for the Algerian market. The numbers on the table are clear, a production target of 90,000 units between Doblò and Fiat Grande Panda and a series of facilities to start collaborations with Algerian partners or plan settlements on site, for productions destined for the domestic market.

"Meetings such as this one strengthen the European industrial presence in the African market and build long-term relations,' says the vice-president of the Industrialists' Union of Turin, Giorgia Garola , who reiterates: 'For the Turin component companies present, all highly qualified, it is an opportunity to expand their international reach and contribute to paths of technological and sustainable innovation. For the companies in the sector, the hypothesised volumes are important - 100 thousand vehicles represent a minimum threshold for hypothesising investments on site - but also the instruments in the field to encourage industrial settlements, with a view to a production district. "The initiative," emphasises Edoardo Pavesio, operations president of the Sila Group, "does not represent a sort of hostile takeover bid, it seems to me to be more an opportunity to produce greater volumes than an initiative at risk of delocalisation for activities rooted in Italy. Of course, the African continent today has 58 cars for every thousand inhabitants, and basic infrastructure is lacking, but in the future it could represent an evolving market'.

The African continent could therefore represent the next step of internationalisation for the Italian component manufacturers, historically following Fiat, but it is certainly necessary to reckon with the industrial and employment needs in Italy. There is no shortage of concerns, therefore, so much so that the metalworking unions in Turin demonstrated outside the headquarters of the Industrial Union and issued an open letter to defend Italian-made components. A study presented by PwC Strategy& on the top 315 Italian operators reveals that this sector will lose 15% of its turnover in 2025 compared to its peak in 2023, with margins in further contraction by 2024. "The loss of 500 companies and 35 thousand jobs in recent years," write the provincial secretariats of Fim, Fiom Uilm, together with Fismic, Ugl and Quadri, "is not just a statistic, but an open wound in our social fabric. In this scenario, in which thousands of workers 'are living in uncertainty, between wages reduced by the redundancy fund and the lack of a long-term industrial plan', the overt risk is the decline of the Italian industry in the sector, thanks to 'the progressive disengagement of Stellantis'. We cannot give in to this vision, say the metalworkers: 'We call on all those involved to take responsibility: the future of Turin is built by staying here, by valuing work and restoring dignity to those who, with hard work, continue to support the economy of this province'.

Stellantis is present in Algeria with the Tafraoui plant, where three models will be produced this year; in addition to the Doblò van and the Panorama model, production of the Fiat Grande Panda is being prepared, with the aim of reaching 90,000 units in 2026. "We have presented a series of opportunities to start collaborations with Algerian partners on different fronts, from technological and machinery supplies to the production of components, and potentially also the possibility of direct investment in industrial development and the production of components on the market and for the market, thus destined for production in Algeria," says Stellantis, present with Stellantis Algeria ceo Raoui Beji, interviewed by Il Sole 24 Ore last week. 'Stellantis sells in Algeria what it produces in Algeria, and the industrial ecosystem that Stellantis intends to implement in North Africa is not in competition with the European ecosystem,' reassure the local top management of the company, which aims to strengthen its industrial presence in the North African country, to overcome a model based only on vehicle assembly and 'generate value locally, as provided for by Algerian regulations'.