Stellantis CEO warns on rising costs, confirms Leapmotor cooperation on e-cars in Italy

MILAN, Nov 12 (Reuters) - Stellantis Chief Executive Antonio Filosa said on Thursday the automaker and its suppliers were set to face significant cost increases for raw materials and electronic components over at least the next year.

"We know that in 2027, and probably also in 2028, we and our suppliers will have to deal with significant raw material inflation, as well as cost inflation linked to memory chips, PCBs (printed circuit boards) and semiconductors," Filosa said at the annual general assembly of Italian auto part maker lobby Anfia in Milan.

"For us, Stellantis, this is inflation that we measure in billions of euros," he said.

A spokesperson for Stellantis later told Reuters that Filosa's comment aimed to refer to the company's total cost base of billions of euros annually.

The CEO said Stellantis and its suppliers needed to respond to the situation through increased competitiveness and public support, both in Italy and in the European Union, on input costs, mainly energy costs, and more favourable industry regulation, including on carbon emissions.

He also confirmed Chinese partner Leapmotor would cooperate with Stellantis on the development of the automaker's planned e-cars. They are to be manufactured at Stellantis' Pomigliano plant in Italy, with sales expected to start in 2028.

E-cars are a new category of low-cost electric vehicles aimed at reviving Europe's shrinking entry-level car market.

"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," Filosa said.

(Reporting by Giulio Piovaccari, editing by Alvise Armellini and Susan Fenton)