Volkswagen-Audi sells Italdesign: former Magneti Marelli director and Aston Martin CEO join forces to save it

A month ago, the announcement sent a chill through the automotive design world: Volkswagen-Audi was considering selling Italdesignthe studio founded by Giorgetto Giugiaro, to UST Global, an Indian-owned American technology multinational. In Italy, this prospect immediately aroused concern, almost anger, so closely is Italdesign's heritage associated with the country's industrial identity. Today, a major development has changed the equation completely. An Italian 100 % coalition, made up of leading figures, is ready to counter-attack with a comprehensive bid to buy the company and keep it out of the hands of foreign buyers.

The shock of the possible sale to UST Global

For several months, Audi had been looking to rationalize its activities, and was preparing to part ways with Italdesign, considered "non-essential" in the major restructuring linked to the switch to electric vehicles. The interest shown by UST Global, a 30,000-employee digital company, was surprisingly unrelated to the automotive sector. A delegation from the group had already visited the Moncalieri headquarters, suggesting that the sale was only a matter of weeks away. In Turin, unions and former executives were sounding the alarm, pointing out that the company supports 1,300 employees and a network of almost 3,000 indirect jobs.

The emergence of a high-level Italian coalition

According to exclusive revelations by Torino Cronaca, an Italian coalition has been working discreetly for months to put together an offer capable of rivaling that of UST Global. This alliance is based on two essential pillars: a solid industrial partner, the Adler Group, a global specialist in automotive components, and an institutional partner, Cassa Depositi e Prestiti. It also incorporates a number of leading personalities, including two immediately recognizable names in Italian industry.

The first is Eugenio Razelli, former head of Magneti Marelli and a key figure in the sector for four decades. His career took him from Fiat Auto to Zanussi, from Marelli to Pirelli, then to the head of Fiat's Business Development division and finally to the position of CEO and Managing Director of Magneti Marelli until 2015. Now Chairman of Safilo and a member of several boards of directors, Razelli has campaigned from the outset for Italdesign's "brains" to remain in Italy.

The second name is just as emblematic: Amedeo Felisa, former Managing Director of Ferrari and current Managing Director of Aston Martin. Trained as an engineer at the Politecnico di Milano, he worked at Alfa Romeo and then at all levels of Ferrari's technical organization before taking over as CEO, embodying the continuity between the great schools of Italian design and engineering. His participation in the coalition lends historical and technical credibility to the project.

They are joined by Giancarlo Tonelli, ex-Ventana and figurehead of Cesare Romiti's Fiat era, and financier Andrea Pavan. A solid, structured network with a clear industrial vision: to preserve Italdesign, expand into new sectors and restore its central role in the Italian automotive ecosystem.

Offer ready for submission to Audi

According to information gathered by Torino Cronaca, the coalition is now ready to officially present its offer to Audi-Volkswagen. The aim would be to buy 100 % of Italdesign's shares, while leaving the door open to a minority holding by the German group during a transitional period, in order to secure projects already underway and guarantee continuity while the new industrial plan is drawn up. Volkswagen currently values Italdesign at around 350 million euros. It remains to be seen whether the Italian bid will be able to compete financially with those of the Indian and American investors.

Highlights of the recovery plan

In the minds of the entrepreneurs involved, Italdesign should no longer be 70 % dependent on orders from Audi and Volkswagen. The company's strategy is based on active diversification: renewing ties with Italian brands under the Stellantis group, collaborating with the aeronautical industry via Leonardo (a sector in which Adler has recently strengthened its presence) and exploring the boating sector, a field undergoing rapid transformation. A way of restoring Italdesign to a transversal, diversified role, capable of once again becoming a center of excellence integrated into the Italian industrial fabric rather than a satellite of the German group. The next meeting of the Audi-Volkswagen Board of Directors will be decisive.