Italy

Four months after announcing a joint venture with Chinese EV automaker Leapmotor, Stellantis is reportedly mulling taking the strategic cooperation further by building hundreds of thousands of BEVs for its new partner in Italy to serve the European market.

Stellantis has been at odds with the Italian government for its lack of support in EV adoption and not backing home-grown brands Fiat and Alfa Romeo. But now Italy says it is open to buying a stake in Stellantis, Reuters reports, using the same model France uses for its beloved Renault.

Italian automaker Maserati is doubling down on its roots and letting the world know that its vehicles will continue to be 100% designed, developed, and manufactured in Italy. That said, some of those Maserati vehicles in the pipeline, particularly the 100% electric ones, continue to face development hurdles. Meanwhile, Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares is in a battle with the Italian government over EV sales support.

EVs drivers in Italy are a rare breed. And Stellantis’s CEO Carlos Tarvares says the government needs to step in and do more, a lot more, to promote EVs in a country with only 4% EV adoption rate, reports Automotive News Europe. Italy has some of the oldest, most polluting cars in Europe, and is lagging way behind other European countries in EV adoption, with an incentive program that has been practically nonexistent.

One month after securing a fresh seed round worth $15 million, personal eVTOL developer Jetson has achieved certification for flights in uncontrolled airspace in Italy, the first ultra-light aircraft manufacturer to do so. With operational authorization also in place, Jetson’s ONE “flying cars” could be taking to the skies of Italy soon.