Stellantis-backed ACC shelves plans to open battery gigafactories in Italy and Germany

The European vehicle battery venture Automotive Cells (ACC) is shelving plans to build battery gigafactories in Italy and Germany, the Italian metalworkers' union UILM said on Saturday.

"ACC management confirmed to us this morning what we've long feared: that ACC's plan to build a gigafactory in Termoli has been definitively shelved, as has the case in Germany," the union said in a statement.

ACC, which is backed by automotive giant Stellantis, said it was considering shutting down the projects, which have been on hold since 2024 amid slower-than-expected growth for electric vehicles.

The new ACC sites were among dozens of battery projects emerging in Europe as it seeks to reduce reliance on Chinese producers that dominate the market, but were halted as the company weighed shifting to a less-expensive battery technology.

"It is clear that the prerequisites for restarting ACC's projects in Germany and Italy... are not yet in place," ACC said.

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The company was in talks with unions over "the modalities for a potential shutdown of the Gigafactory projects in Kaiserslautern and Termoli."

ACC is a partnership between French energy giant TotalEnergies, Germany's Mercedes-Benz and US-European automaker Stellantis, which produces a range of brands including Peugeot, Fiat and Chrysler.

Stellantis, which is Europe's second largest carmaker warned Friday that it would take a 22-billion-euro hit after a slower take up of electric vehicles than it had forecast.

The admission of a "significant overestimation" of demand for EVs comes as authorities in the US and Europe have eased strict emissions targets after years of demanding cleaner vehicles.

In September 2024, Italy said it was withdrawing some 250 million euros in European Union funds initially earmarked for the gigafactory amid uncertainty over the project's time-table.