Seri Industrial, the only Italian manufacturer of lithium automotive batteries with the Faam brand, could become the majority shareholder of Industria Italiana Autobus (IIA), formerly Menarini bus, in crisis. The negotiations were officially communicated on 30 April to the Italian Stock Exchange, where Seri Industrial is listed, and to the stock exchange supervisory body Consob.
The CEO had somehow predicted it Vittorio Civitillo in the last letter to the shareholders writing: «We will evaluate possible extensions of the production chain, with particular interest in those products that see the lithium electric battery as a fundamental element, both in terms of costs, but above all in terms of innovation and future development».
The electric city buses they are exactly that: a product that revolves around the accumulator. It is a product highly requested by the market. Last year e-buses covered the 13.7% of the European market and in the first quarter of 2024 sales rose by one further 10.8%.
Industria Italiana Autobus has a range of battery-powered buses in production, some in the delivery phase. Already in crisis since 2022, last year it was recapitalized for 25 million by the three partners: Invitaliawhich holds 42.76%, Leonardo with 28.65% and the Turks of Karsan with 28.59%. To get it back on track we now need another 30 million. A burden that the two public partners Invitalia and Leonardo do not want to shoulder. They could be the ones to sell the shares to Industrial series. After the announcement of the deal, the shares of the company listed on Piazza Affari on Euronext Milan jumped by 6.93%. Then tracing back to yesterday’s session.
Industria Italiana Autobus is the most important Italian company manufacturing vehicles for public road transport. Produces and distributes the brand Menarinibus. Currently occupies 600 employees in two production sites: the historic Bolognese factory in via San Donato 190, the company’s administrative and operational headquarters (155,000 m2 of which 50,000 m2 covered with a 2 km test track) and the Flumeri (AV) plant (975,000 m2 of which 105,000 m2 covered with a 7 km runway).
The other consortium candidate to take over the majority was also Bolognese-led. They were part of it Valerio Gruppioni of Sira (aluminium castings), Maurizio Stirpe of Prima spa (auto components) e Maurizio Marchesini of Marchesini spa (pharmaceutical packaging). But according to the Ministry of Industry which met with the unions last week, the only proposal left on the field is now that of Seri Industrial.
- READ the article and WATCH THE VIDEO on Faam’s gigafactory project in Teverola
The group has started the production of lithium battery cells at the first site in Teverola, Campania, with a production capacity of 330 MWh. And it has started the executive phase of the second Teverola plant which will become the first gigafactory of Italian batteries with 8 GWh of production capacity.
– Subscribe to our newsletter and YouTube channel –
 from batteries to e-buses?){kind=link}