Volkswagen-Audi wants to sell Italdesign to the Indians "we can't just stand by".

The nameItaldesign instantly evokes the golden age of Italian automotive design: Giorgetto Giugiaro, silhouettes that have become legendary, a style that has shaped icons of the road. In 2025, this living symbol finds himself at the center of an industrial tug-of-war: Volkswagen-Audi is considering selling Italdesign to UST, a technology multinational with majority Indian capital. In Italy, the announcement came as an electroshock: "We can't just sit back and do nothing," hammered some voices in the industry.

An Italian jewel under German control

Founded in 1968 by Giorgetto Giugiaro and Aldo Mantovani, Italdesign revolutionized automotive design. The Moncalieri office has produced icons such as the Volkswagen Golf I, Lancia Delta, Lotus Esprit, DeLorean DMC-12 and Fiat Panda.

Since 2010, Italdesign has been owned by Audi, a subsidiary of the Volkswagen Group, which had bought 90.1 % of the capital, before becoming 100 % owner in 2015. Today, around 70 % of the studio's projects come directly from the Audi and Volkswagen brands.

But the transition to electric vehicles has profoundly upset the balance of the German group. Audi is now seeking to cut costs and refocus its internal activities, to the detriment of its specialist subsidiaries. Italdesign, despite its prestige, is considered "non-essential" in this restructuring.

Potential buyer: UST, the Indian tech giant

This is the backdrop to the emergence of UST, a technology company with an American base but majority Indian capital. Headed by Paras Chandaria (Chairman) and Krishna Sudheendra (CEO), the company employs over 30,000 people and generates annual revenues of around $2 billion.

Active in software, artificial intelligence and digital transformation, UST is best known for its solutions in healthcare and finance, not automotive. Its desire to take over Italdesign therefore raises a major question:

Is it a strategic alliance between design and technology, or simply a speculative investment?

Last Thursday, several Italian media revealed that a delegation of UST executives had visited Italdesign's headquarters in Moncalieri, an unusual visit at such an early stage in the negotiations. Internally, employees were reportedly instructed not to communicate on the matter, even with their union representatives.

Anger mounts in Turin

Former Magneti Marelli boss Eugenio Razelli denounces what he describes as an "industrial crime". He calls for the formation of an Italian consortium to prevent Italdesign's "brain" from leaving the country.

"There's a big difference between having the heart and brain of a company in Turin or on the other side of the world," he insists.

Italdesign employs 1,300 people in the region, and supports a network of around 3,000 indirect jobs. Razelli calls for the intervention of Cassa Depositi e Prestiti and the support of Italian entrepreneurs such as Amedeo Felisa (ex-Ferrari, ex-Aston Martin) and Paolo Scudieri (Adler Group).

In his view, an Italian takeover would enable Italdesign to reconnect with national brands such as Alfa Romeo and Maserati, currently owned by Stellantis.

Italy's automotive industry in the throes of fragmentation

The Italdesign affair takes place in a symbolically charged context:

• Pininfarina has belonged to the Mahindra Group (India) since 2015.
• Iveco is about to be partially transferred to the giant Tata.
• Magneti Marelli, sold to Japan's Calsonic Kansei in 2018.

Italdesign would thus be the last major Italian design studio still under the European flag. Its loss would represent the definitive transfer of Turin's know-how to Asian or American industrial clusters.

Officially, Audi has not confirmed the transaction. Internally, the timetable suggests a decision by the end of 2025, for a closing in 2026. The unions, however, consider this timeframe too short and fear a hasty announcement before the end of the year.