MILAN - Italy's industry minister said on Thursday he expected "within hours" a firm commitment by Stellantis over its plan to build a battery-making plant in the country, otherwise the government would move public funds for the project elsewhere.

ACC, a battery joint venture in which Stellantis is the largest investor, has plans for three gigafactories in Europe. But earlier this year it said it was putting on hold works on two of them, in Italy and Germany, as the company switches to lower cost batteries amid slowing demand for electric vehicles.

"Stellantis must give us a reply, and it must do so shortly," Minister Adolfo Urso said during a conference in Rimini.

"If Stellantis does not give us a positive feedback within hours, we'll move ... funds elsewhere. We can't afford to lose these funds because Stellantis is not sticking to its commitments."

Stellantis had no immediate comment.

ACC's plan for an Italian gigafactory, located in Termoli envisages a total investment of around 2 billion euros ($2.2 billion), including 370 million euros in public money, through the EU's post-COVID recovery fund.

The plant was initially expected to start operations in 2026.

ACC, which also has Mercedes and TotalEnergies as shareholders, has said it would confirm its industrial and construction timeline later this year or in early 2025.

Urso, who has repeatedly criticised Stellantis, Italy's sole major automaker, for not producing enough vehicles in the country, said the government would assess how to support the Termoli gigafactrory plan with other public funds, should Stellantis confirm its plans at a later stage.

  - Reuters