ROME- Carmaker Stellantis said on Friday its unit FCA Italy and other Italian subsidiaries had repaid a 6.3 billion euro ($7 billion) loan to Italy's top lender Intesa Sanpaolo.

The loan was "instrumental in the restart of industrial production (after the COVID-19 outbreak) and provided continuity for key investment projects", the company said in a statement.

It added that Stellantis was now in a position to repay it, ahead of its maturity in March 2023.

The loan, granted in June 2020, had a three-year maturity and credit export agency SACE provided a guarantee on 80% of its amount. ($1 = 0.8981 euros)

(Reporting by Giulia Segreti; editing by Agnieszka Flak) ((Giulia.Segreti@tr.com; +39.06.80307714;))