ROME - Luca Cordero di Montezemolo has shared his anger at the state of Italy’s manufacturing industry. Montezemolo is an Italian businessman and former titan of the italian automotive industry as chairman of Ferrari and Fiat S.p.A. He is also the current chairman of train company Italo.

Quoted in an article by Il Fatto quotidiano, Montezemolo has described how the once-great italian automotive industry is now in decline: “In 1975 when I started my adventure at Ferrari, Italy won three world championships. Niki Lauda driving a Ferrari, Lancia winning the World Rally Championship, and Alfa Romeo winning The World Sportscar Championship.” 

However, Montezemolo reflects that the Italian automotive industry is “disappearing” - the past giant of manufacturing has now slipped to only being the eighth biggest in the world. Montezemolo described how “Italy no longer has an automotive manufacturing industry. Fiat has gone, Maserati has almost gone and the same for Lancia and Magneti Marelli and Comau. All former Italian household names, sold to foreign investors.”  

Montezemolo continued his criticism of Stellantis and its senior leadership, saying that: “The Lancia brand still exists, but they manufacture abroad, perhaps in Spain, but definitely no longer in our country. Even the Fiat Seicento, a symbol of our automotive industry during the second world war has moved to Poland ... Our plants are empty, and the workers are humiliated by redundancy. There should be outrage, but all I hear is deafening silence.” 

Montezemolo suggested that the solution to this decline is to entice foreign investors back into Italy. Montezemolo said: “We need investors: from Europe, from America, and even from China. We cannot let all those car component companies that have advanced the country die.” 

Montezemolo also commented about the seizure of 74.4 million euros worth of assets from the Elkann brothers, John, Lapo and Ginevra. Montezemolo said: “it is all very sad, don’t let me say anything more.”