Stellantis is looking ever more toward the United States. The «Fastlane 2030» industrial plan, unveiled by CEO Antonio Filosa, calls for a total of €60 billion (about $65 billion) in investment and the launch of 60 new models by the end of the decade — but most of those resources will flow to the most profitable markets, North and South America in particular. For Europe, by contrast, the group is preparing a slimming cure that risks further shrinking the continent’s industrial weight, and Italy’s above all.
The plan draws a sharp line between brands it considers «global» and those treated as «regional» or niche. Jeep, Fiat, Peugeot and Ram will be the international pillars of the strategy, while historic marques such as Alfa Romeo, Lancia, DS and Opel are handed a more limited role. Alfa Romeo is slated for just two new models by 2030, while Lancia will be folded into an integrated operation alongside Fiat and Citroën.
Investment flows to the US, production shrinks in Europe
The logic behind the new course is to invest where margins are highest. Stellantis has announced that roughly 60% of the €36 billion (about $39 billion) earmarked for brand and product development will be concentrated in North America. At the same time, the group aims to cut costs by about €6 billion (roughly $6.5 billion) by 2028.
To hit that target, the plan also calls for a reduction in European production capacity: from today’s potential 4.65 million vehicles to about 3.85 million. The group insists no plants will be closed, but that they will instead be repurposed and optimized through industrial partnerships. Filosa pledged that «we will not close plants in Italy or in Europe», and that the capacity cut can be managed «without closures» thanks to shared production with other partners.
The open question, though, is what the concrete consequences will be for European plants. Stellantis wants to push plant utilization up to 80%, from a current 60% — but in Italy that utilization rate collapsed in 2025 to around 23%, a clear sign of badly underused factories.
Europe leans on Chinese alliances, Italy ever more marginal
In the new industrial setup, Europe’s role will be increasingly tied to partnerships with Asian carmakers. In Spain, Stellantis will strengthen its axis with Leapmotor; in France it is betting on collaboration with Dongfeng. The goal is to speed up technological development and sharply cut the «time-to-market» — the time it takes to move a car from design to showroom — which should fall from 40 to 24 months.
Spain looks today like the best-positioned European country, helped in part by the gigafactory developed with CATL, the Chinese battery giant, set to become one of the group’s strategic hubs for electric vehicles. Italy’s situation, by contrast, is more complicated.
For now the only firm project concerns Pomigliano d’Arco, near Naples, where two electric city cars — one Fiat, one Citroën — are due to be built from 2028. The future of Maserati remains unanswered, as does that of key plants such as Cassino and Termoli. Even production of the future Fiat 500 at Mirafiori, in Turin, is not taken for granted.
Unions sound the alarm: «We need job guarantees»
Italy’s labor unions greeted the plan with deep concern. Fiom, one of the country’s main metalworkers’ unions, called the group’s strategy insufficient, arguing it «does not guarantee a resolution to the car industry’s crisis in Italy», and demanded an immediate meeting with the government and the company. Uilm, another metalworkers’ union, likewise fears that the cut in production capacity could translate into job losses, especially at the most troubled plants.
Among the most exposed sites is Cassino, which in 2026 ran for only a few weeks, building fewer than 4,000 vehicles. Fim, a third union, called the plan «a step forward» but has asked for precise guarantees covering every Italian plant.
The risk, according to analysts and unions alike, is that Italy gradually loses its centrality within the Stellantis galaxy just as the group accelerates its investments overseas and its industrial alliances in other European countries.
Editor’s note
This article was originally published in Italian on money.it by Redazione Imprese on May 22, 2026 as «Il nuovo piano Stellantis? Tagli in UE e Italia ai margini. 60 miliardi di investimenti, quasi tutti in USA». It has been translated and adapted for an international audience by the Money.it International desk.
