Stellantis, meeting with the trade unions, new hybrid engine at Pratola Serra

Trials are set to begin on a new hybrid engine for Atessa’s light commercial vehicles, with a reduction in furlough payments of around 30 per cent in 2025 – a year that is, in any case, set to be a difficult one for production in Italia – and an estimated 1,000 new jobs to be created, according to the company. These are the figures that Stellantis has put on the table during its meeting with the trade unions regarding the situation at the Group’s Italian plants.

As regards Cassino, the same applies as mentioned above: the business plan for the revitalisation of the plant, linked to the Alfa Romeo and Maserati brands, is due to be presented in December. Meanwhile, the company reiterates that the second model at Mirafiori is contingent upon a number of enabling factors relating to energy costs and competitive conditions.

The UILM union welcomes the trial of a diesel-hybrid engine for the new Ducato, but Stellantis’s ‘Italia plan’ ‘still needs to be finalised’, says Gianluca Ficco, UILM’s national secretary responsible for the automotive sector, following the update meeting held with the Group. The diesel hybrid, Ficco explained, “is good news both for the Pratola Serra plant, which will be producing it, and for the Atessa plant, as it will help to meet the emission reduction targets for light commercial vehicles with a product that appeals to consumers”.

More worrying is the comment from Fiom, which notes no positive developments for Stellantis’s Italian plants and emphasises that, regarding the second model at Mirafiori, ‘there is no certainty’. As for Cassino, Samuele Lodi, Fiom-Cgil national secretary and head of the mobility sector, noted that ‘any developments, if there are any, will come in December, not before’. There are also difficulties in Termoli, where there is ‘a delay’ with the eDCT electrified gearbox: production, which ‘was supposed to alleviate the problem of not having the Gigafactory to some extent’, will be postponed. The CGIL trade union is calling for a second model to be allocated to Mirafiori, ‘to achieve the production volumes and economies of scale required by the historic Turin plant’, and for a detailed plan to be presented for Cassino, ‘based on Maserati cars and, we hope, Alfa Romeo’.

Stefano Boschini, head of the automotive sector at Fim Cisl, emphasises: ‘We have reiterated the need to draw up an industrial plan that safeguards all jobs and brings an end to social safety nets. There appear to be positive developments at the Pratola Serra plant, with the trialling of the new diesel engine that is set to power the new Ducato.’