ROME (Reuters) – Italy has set aside one billion euros ($1.1 billion) a year for eight years to support its automotive sector, Industry Minister Giancarlo Giorgetti told reporters on Friday after a cabinet meeting.
The new package meets requests by businesses and unions for a structural mid-term scheme, after Rome spent a total of around 1.35 billion euros in 2020 and 2021, according to data from lobby group ANFIA, to support the industry through several measures that needed to be periodically refinanced.
Though a late-comer compared to other European car making countries such as Germany and France, Italy is currently increasing its output of electric vehicles through new models introduced and planned by Stellantis, the country’s largest carmaker.
Germany subsidised purchases of battery-electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles for a total of 3.1 billion euros last year, nearly five times as much as in 2020.
($1 = 0.8831 euros)
(Reporting by Giuseppe Fonte, writing by Giulio Piovaccari; editing by David Evans)
