Italy is demanding Dongfeng Motor agree to safeguards on cybersecurity and data protection as the price of support for a new plant by the Chinese automaker, according to Bloomberg sources.
As talks advance with Dongfeng, prime minister Giorgia Meloni’s government was requiring components such as infotainment units be provided by local suppliers for security reasons, the sources said. Italian officials also want consumer data to be collected and managed within the country, they added.
Bloomberg said Meloni’s government was seeking to capture the benefits of Chinese investment in an auto industry which had shrunken steadily in recent decades while also navigating concerns around data protection and cybersecurity.
The prime minister met with Chinese president Xi Jinping in Beijing last week as she sought to renew frayed trade ties with the Asian powerhouse.
“The arrival of a Chinese carmaker in Italy could help inject new life in a stagnant market, as long as local suppliers would play a crucial role in providing components and guaranteeing western security standards especially for next generation cars,” Stefano Aversa, chairman for Europe, the Middle East and Africa at AlixPartners told Bloomberg.
The restrictions were part of a wider framework of rules also aimed at promoting Italian automotive suppliers, Bloomberg said. Italy had urged Dongfeng to source at least 45% of all components in each car from within Italy, which would qualify the Chinese automaker for several hundred million euros in public incentives, the sources said.
A representative for the Italian government declined to comment to Bloomberg and Dongfeng didn’t immediately reply to its request for comment.
