Stellantis hopes to accelerate its advance into cheap ‘entry-level’ battery-electric vehicles with a $41 million investment into its Verrone plant in northern Italy.

The facility manufactures parts for electric motors for use in small affordable BEVs that the automaker group is planning.

It will now make steel components for electric drive modules Stellantis currently being produced at the automaker’s various European facilities with commercial production expected to begin at the end of 2027, Reuters reports.

Stellantis hopes the plant will be able to turn out more than 400,000 units a year when at full capacity. However, in a company statement it says an increase in annual output that would increase output to 600,000 units annually is also being considered depending on market demand.

The move is prompted by a slowdown in European consumer demand for expensive premium BEV products especially when public charging infrastructure is still in its infancy.

Consumers who are interested in switching to BEVs are also increasingly turning to cheaper Chinese products so Stellantis hopes its focus on providing affordable limited-range vehicles may help boost its market share in this sector.

This electric motor production will be added to Verrone's existing output of transmissions for gasoline engine cars. More than 200,000 transmissions were produced last year at the plant which employs about 350 people.

Stellantis chairman John Elkann will attend a parliamentary hearing in Rome this week to discuss the group's manufacturing activity plans in Italy.