Abstract

This article offers an analysis of the main features of the automobile sector in Southern Italy, and particularly of the industries allied to car manufacturing linked to Fiat Auto. Historically, the dependence of Southern factories on those producing components within Turin allied industries has represented a strict limit to the growth of an auto-qualified allied sector and to the set-up of an automotive supply chain in the Mezzogiorno. Such limits, although nowadays vehicle production is mostly concentrated in the Mezzogiorno factories, still remain, while a large part of components production is concentrated in Northern regions, specifically the highest value added production and most export-oriented. In turn, components production enterprises in the South of Italy regions, besides substantially depending on national or foreign enterprises that have their decision making offices elsewhere, report a very low export-propensity, have single-client relationships with Fiat, and few feedbacks on R&D activities. If we consider that suppliers carry out the 70% of a vehicle as for projecting and producing, and that they are going to play a more relevant role as for innovation, given the general relevance of car sector in the Mezzogiorno, we suggest that certain means of sustainability could be useful, within a wider context of industrial policies: for instance, these policies could consider these enterprises and local ones too, within the perspective of a new programme agreement able to really promote the set-up of an automotive supply chain in the Mezzogiorno.