Silk Faw’s shattered dream: how a fake US-Chinese factory gained leftist political approval in Italy, and left a bunch of debts

In Italy, in the famous “Motor Valley,” where prestige automakers such as Ferrari, Lamborghini, and Dallara, with their whole compartment of designers and suppliers, were located, it seemed that the time had come to host a large Chinese-American automaker. Instead, this promise, which had captivated local left-wing politicians, turned out to be a failed illusion.

The promise of a maxi electric car manufacturing hub in Gavassa, Reggio Emilia, has turned into a failure with heavy economic repercussions for many automotive companies. The Sino-American joint venture Silk Faw, after deluding the municipality and region with flashy renderings and promises of pharaonic investments, has left behind a 20 million euro hole in the water.

U.S. property Silk Sports Car Srl, through lawyer Francesco Morcavallo, offered one million euros to be divided among creditors in the judicial liquidation procedure. A negligible sum in comparison to the 20 million euros in receivables owed by suppliers and automotive companies, Losing out is the automotive industry’s Gotha, comprising:

• Walter de Silva cars: 2,904,979 euros
• HPE SL (High Performance Engine): 1,800,000 euros
• Csi Entwicklungstechnik GmbH: 1,800,000 euros
• Dallara Automobili Spa: 1,700,000 euros
• Danisi Engineering Srl: 1,400,000 euros
• Lifetouch Srl: 800,000 euros
• HSL Srl: 607,000 euros
• Waycon Srl: 571,000 euros
• Avl Italy: 537,000 euros
• Alfa Solutions: 376,000 euros
• Bieffe Project srl: 350,000 euro
• Pankl Turbosystems GmbH: 194,000 euros
• Idiada Automotive Technology Spa: 71,000 euros
• Valeo Spa: 51,000 euros
• Nomisma:

The companies involved face enormous losses as a result of an illusion created by hollow promises and political management that, according to the opposition, neglected to evaluate the project’s viability, even though the roughly sixty former employees have reportedly nearly all been paid off.

The never-built car factory

The “Lega,” the sovereignist party present in the region with regional councilor Maura Catellani and city councilors Giovanni Tarquini and Carmine Migale, attack the Pd and the city administration for having believed, like mouthpieces, in the flattery of the American businessman Jonathan Crane, who was “welcomed with all honors” by former mayor Luca Vecchi and then-president of the region Stefano Bonaccini, from the leftist party PD and now Member of European Party with the Socialist.

Catellani stresses the responsibility of the PD in dragging some of the Region’s most technologically advanced companies into bankruptcy, highlighting the economic and image damage to the Motor Valley. Tarquini and Migale denounce the “biggest financial bluff in Reggio’s history,” criticizing the actions of administrators who promised “pharaonic business and international limelight” to entrepreneurs, now forced to settle for less than 5 percent of their claims.

The Silk Faw affair is an emblematic example of how lack of diligence and the pursuit of easy successes can lead to disastrous consequences for the local economy and the credibility of institutions.