Priya Raman

Stellantis CEO Antonio Filosa warned that the automaker and its suppliers face significant raw-material inflation in 2027 and probably 2028. Stellantis also confirmed a joint plan with China’s Leapmotor to develop low-cost electric vehicles (EVs), with production at Pomigliano, Italy, and sales expected in 2028.

Filosa made the comments at the annual general assembly of Italian automotive parts association Anfia in Milan, Italy, according to Reuters. He said Stellantis and its suppliers should prepare for price pressure on raw materials and electronic components.

CEO Antonio Filosa said: “We know that in 2027, and probably also in 2028, we and our suppliers will have to deal with significant raw material inflation.” He also cited cost inflation linked to memory chips, printed circuit boards (PCBs) and semiconductors.

A Stellantis spokesperson subsequently told Reuters that the comments related to the group’s overall cost base, which amounts to billions of euros annually. The clarification widened the warning beyond any single model, component or plant.

What does the inflation warning change?

Operationally, Filosa said Stellantis and its suppliers should prepare for price pressure on raw materials and electronic components. The remarks did not announce specific vehicle price increases, a total cost estimate or a supplier-savings target.

• Public support: Filosa called for greater competitiveness and public support to address input costs, particularly energy costs.
• Policy and regulation: He urged Italian and European Union authorities to support energy-cost measures and introduce more favourable industry rules, including on carbon emissions.

The mechanism is direct: raw-material and chip inflation increases input costs, while energy costs add to the pressure Filosa wants public policy to ease. The company offered no margin forecast, price band or timing for its response.

Stellantis therefore faces a tight timing problem. It is preparing a low-cost EV programme for 2028 even as its chief executive expects input inflation to persist through 2027 and probably 2028.

What does the Leapmotor plan change?

Filosa confirmed that Stellantis and its Chinese partner Leapmotor will jointly develop future “e-cars”. The programme has three disclosed elements:

• Manufacturing: Production is scheduled for Stellantis’s Pomigliano plant in Italy, with sales expected to begin in 2028.
• Target market: The “e-cars” category is intended to comprise low-cost EVs for Europe’s entry-level passenger-car market.
• Development scope: The partnership covers future electric and electronic solutions across Stellantis’s European plants, including its Italian facility.

“Leapmotor and this partnership will help us at our European plants, including one in Italy, and will support the joint development of future electric and electronic solutions. E-cars is one of the areas on which we will work closely together,” CEO Antonio Filosa said.

The strategic logic is straightforward. An entry-level product must remain affordable while its maker manages pressure in raw materials, chips and energy, according to Filosa’s 2027-2028 warning. Stellantis disclosed no vehicle price, production volume or timetable beyond the planned 2028 sales start.

By sharing development across a European plant network, the two companies can connect the Pomigliano production plan with a broader engineering structure rather than treat the Italian site as a stand-alone project. That is the disclosed mechanism; the report provided no financial terms, model specifications or planned vehicle numbers.

What happened to Brampton?

Earlier in November 2026, Stellantis signed an asset purchase agreement—a contract covering the plant and related equipment—for its Brampton assembly plant in Ontario, Canada. The agreement provides for the sale to Roshel, a Canadian defence technology company.

Neither the report nor Filosa disclosed a sale price, completion date or future production plan for Brampton. Stellantis also did not present the disposal as part of the Leapmotor partnership, and Filosa did not connect the two moves in his comments.

Taken together, the disclosures describe a company preparing a 2028 EV launch while changing part of its manufacturing asset base. That is an analytical reading, not a stated rationale; any claim that the Canadian sale directly funds the Italian EV programme would go beyond the report.

The disclosed timetable compresses the decision: low-cost EV production is scheduled at Pomigliano for 2028 sales, while input inflation may run through 2027 and probably 2028. Filosa’s response consists of joint development, European plant coordination and a call for policy support on energy and regulation.