Italy automotive mini development contracts worth €300 million

Italy launches €300 million mini development contracts for automotive supply chain

The Industry Ministry has set the aid framework for sub-€20 million projects, with support covering up to 75% of eligible costs.

AI Newsroom 2 min readPublished on this site: 07 Sept 2026, 14:38Original publication: 07 Sept 2026, 09:40Updated: 08 Sept 2026, 15:50

Generic automotive production area with metal components, assembly operations and testing stations

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Three key points

01€300 million allocated to mini development contracts for the automotive supply chain.
02Aid can cover up to 75% of eligible costs for investment programmes below €20 million.
03Reserved shares apply to SMEs, southern Italy, companies with a legality rating, and firms certified for gender equality.

Why this matters · AI editorial analysis, not reported fact

For metalworking suppliers and subcontractors serving automotive customers, the measure opens access to support for mid-sized projects that may fall below ordinary development contract thresholds. That could help finance component production, testing capability, industrial conversion and process upgrades tied to the sector’s technology shift.

Italy’s Ministry of Enterprises and Made in Italy has activated mini development contracts for the automotive supply chain through a decree signed by minister Adolfo Urso. The measure assigns €300 million to companies in the sector and implements the second tranche of the Automotive Fund set out in the Prime Minister’s decree of 10 June 2026, which refinanced resources intended to support the transition to sustainable, autonomous, connected and safer mobility.

According to the source material, the Automotive Fund is split into two lines. The first, worth more than €631 million in total between 2026 and 2030, finances innovation agreements. The second, equal to €300 million between 2025 and 2030, supports mini development contracts, for which the ministry has now defined the applicable aid regime.

The scheme extends the logic of ordinary development contracts to investment programmes below €20 million. Its purpose is to cover a company segment that can be too small for the standard negotiated instrument, yet too large for many regional or narrowly targeted incentive calls. In the automotive version, eligible programmes include development, engineering, testing and production of new vehicles and mobility solutions, including low-emission powertrain and propulsion systems.

The scope also includes components, systems and technologies for autonomous, connected and safe mobility, as well as industrial diversification and conversion projects focused on strategic technologies with high research and development intensity. Productive investments may be combined with industrial research and experimental development projects, along with workforce training programmes, with training capped at 10% of the total investment.

Support will be provided through non-repayable grants and subsidised financing, with total coverage reaching up to 75% of eligible costs. Companies may also apply jointly, with up to five participants. Resource allocation reserves 60% for SME-led initiatives, with one quarter of that share earmarked exclusively for micro and small enterprises, while 40% is directed to programmes carried out at facilities in southern Italy. Two additional 10% reserves are set aside for companies holding a legality rating and for those with gender equality certification.

Applications will be assessed in chronological order through a two-stage evaluation process. The ministry is required to decide on granting the aid within 120 days from receipt of the application, while operational rules for filing requests and disbursing support will be set out in a subsequent directoral decree.