ACC gigafactory 'great European project' says Elkann

(refiling with corrections to the text) (ANSA) - ROME, MAY 30 - The inauguration by ACC (Automotive Cells Company) of a gigafactory in northern France is a great European project that anticipates the future, car maker Stellantis Chairman John Elkann said on Tuesday.
    "Here we are in the future, it is a great European project," said Elkann at the inauguration of the first European gigafactory to be built by ACC, a joint venture of Stellantis, TotalEnergies and Mercedes, in Billy-Berclau near Douvrin.
    The plant is part of a project worth 7 billion euros to build three car battery manufacturing plants in France, Germany and Italy to support the growing production of electric vehicle and the transition to sustainable mobility.
    The project is also expected to create 6,000 jobs.
    "This is the first concrete materialization of an extraordinary but difficult project that contributes to saving the planet, reindustrialization and reclaiming sovereignty in order to be independent in battery production," said ACC CEO Yann Vincent.
    "We are beginning a new phase, thanks in part to the quality of the collaboration between three major States that have accompanied us in this project," said Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares.
    "It is a Darwinian transformation," he continued.
    "We will contribute to the project to produce 23% of battery cells in Europe," said Tavares, adding that Stellantis is set to launch 65 new electric models by 2030, "an industrial challenge". (ANSA).