Monday, October 20, 2025 will remain a symbolic date for Mirafiori workers. For the first time since his appointment, the new CEO of StellantisAntonio Filosa, travelled to Turin to meet Italian trade unions. It was a long-awaited visit, which had been called for years, even in the days of Carlos Tavares.
A long-awaited visit to Mirafiori
While Stellantis recently confirmed a colossal $13 billion investment in the United States, the situation in Italy remained marked by doubt. Unions were calling for a concrete gesture to boost domestic production, which had been at half-mast for several years.
Filosa didn't come empty-handed: he announced 400 new hires at the Mirafiori plant to support production of the new Fiat 500 hybrid, which will start in November. This decision will enable the Turin plant to move into a new production phase in February 2026, and eventually to produce 150,000 cars a year.
"It's still not enough, but it's all we can do given the context," he acknowledged, hailing it as "an important step for employment in Italy".
This is the first time in almost thirty years that Mirafiori has seen a comparable wave of hiring since the late 1990s.
A political message to Brussels
But beyond this symbolic announcement, the heart of Filosa's message lay elsewhere: the European regulatory framework must change.
"We need to review European regulations, which do not take account of the reality of the market and the industrial context", said the Stellantis boss, calling on Italian trade unions to support this approach to European institutions.
In his view, carbon neutrality targets and a ban on the sale of combustion engines by 2035 are simply "unrealistic". He advocates a more pragmatic approach, based on technological neutrality: "We have to allow our customers to choose from the full range of vehicles they want, whether electric, hybrid or internal combustion. This is the only way to get production going again.
Factories still in limbo
While Mirafiori foresees a revival with the 500 hybrid, other sites are still waiting.
- Cassino, where the future Alfa Romeo Stelvio and Giulia are to be produced on the STLA Large platform, is still awaiting the actual launch of the program, which has been pushed back to 2027 to include hybrid versions.
- In Termoli, the situation remains the most critical: the battery Gigafactory is still on hold, and no clear new assignment has been announced.
- Finally, in Melfi, Stellantis is preparing production of the new Jeep Compass hybrid, followed by the DS7 and Lancia Gamma from 2026.
Faced with these uncertainties, the unions welcome the gesture for Mirafiori, while calling for a strengthening of the "Piano Italia" and concrete commitments for the other plants.
A first contact, but many questions
For Filosa, this meeting was above all a symbolic first contact with Italian representatives. He was reassuring: "Italy remains central to our strategic vision". But he also underlined the limits of the European model, comparing the situation with that of the United States, where a more favorable framework has enabled Stellantis to invest $13 billion and create 5,000 jobs.
The unions, divided between caution and hope, acknowledged a change in tone: "The launch of hybrid models is a good start. The launch of hybrid models is a good starting point," commented Uilm. "But we are only at the beginning of a difficult journey, which will depend as much on Stellantis as on European politics."
Regulatory battle ahead
By postponing the presentation of its new industrial plan by the end of the first half of 2026Antonio Filosa lays the foundations for a political and industrial offensive. From now on, Stellantis intends to influence the European debate to obtain a relaxation of environmental regulations, recognition of technological neutrality and support for the small car segment, which is vital for Italian industry.
One thing is certain: after years of tension between the Italian plants and the Group's management, dialogue has finally been reopened. However, the sustainable revival of production will now depend as much on decisions taken in Brussels as in Turin.
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Filosa must repair the destruction wrought by Tavares, the man who couldn't care less about the Italian car industry. It's also clear that we need cars with different energy modes, less polluting, but with considerably more flexible rules for switching to electric cars, which are a big fiasco in many EU countries.
More visits, more interviews, more changes of direction, more "you're going to see what you're going to see", but still the same puredaub garbage cans in production, still the same launch delays, still the same bland or plastic-clad design that smells of fake in what is presented for future projects, still the workers and customers who suffer...
good news ..but it hides some more down-to-earth issues... I have my doubts about the durability of sales of the 500:hybrid, which is such a flop.
I wouldn't go that far (after all, it's only the hybrid version of the electric model). Expensive for what it offers would be more appropriate.