ATESSA, Italy (Reuters) - Italy's approach to incentives has resulted in several months of reduced car production.

This was said by Stellantis Ceo Carlos Tavares during a visit to the group's plant in the town of Atessa, Abruzzo, Europe's largest van production facility.

"For the past nine months Stellantis has been asking the Italian government to support sales of electric vehicles," Tavares said.

The manager added that the group is asking the Italian government to support electric vehicle sales to also help protect the Mirafiori plant, which produces vehicles including the electric 500.

Stellantis has laid off more than 2,000 employees at the Mirafiori plant, including 1,250 for the 500 and 1,000 for the Maserati line.

Stellantis has been in talks with Palazzo Chigi since last summer about a long-term plan for the industry.

The government wants the Franco-Italian group to increase its annual production in Italy to one million vehicles, up from about 750,000 last year, while the automaker is asking for support measures, including lower energy costs and incentives for electric vehicle sales.

The government is expected to unveil its new incentive plan on Feb. 1, worth more than 900 million euros for this year, according to a draft decree viewed by Reuters.

"Italy is spending far less than any other major European country to support electric vehicles," Tavares said.

"The consequence is that we are losing products in Italy that we could manufacture (...) We have already wasted nine months of production, of additional production in Mirafiori."

Rome also said he is working to encourage other major automakers besides Stellantis to produce in the country.

"We are ready to compete. If the competition is very tough, you will appreciate the consequences. But we are absolutely fine," Tavares said.

COMMERCIAL VEHICLE OFFENSIVE

Tavares said Stellantis aims to become a global leader in the commercial vehicle (LCV) market by 2030, launching what he called an offensive in North America and seizing opportunities in Asia.

"We believe we have the potential in this time frame to meet this challenge," he said.

With a market share of more than 30 percent in 2023, Stellantis leads the Lcv industry in Europe, and is among the largest manufacturers globally along with number one Ford and Toyota.

Last year the group sold 1.8 million Lcvs worldwide under its Fiat, Peugeot, Citroen, Opel, Vauxhall and Ram brands, compared to 1.6 million in 2022.

(Translated by Luca Fratangelo, editing Gianluca Semeraro)