With some brands fully shifting on EVs, will they survive like Stellantis if opinions change?
The boss of Stellantis says the car manufacturer is prepared to tweak its electric vehicle (EV) strategy based on the results of important elections in the U.S. and Europe next year. Well, now this begs the question, with some brands focusing entirely on EVs, will they survive if (more likely when, to me) opinions change?
While recently speaking with members of the press at the company’s Mirafiori plant in Turin, Italy, Carlos Tavares noted that Stellantis will keep a close eye on the results of the European Parliament elections and the U.S. presidential election, acknowledging that the brand will have to respond “if political and public opinion tends toward fewer EVs.”
Moreover, while speaking with Automobilwoche, the Stellantis boss also stated, “There are two important elections next year — the European Parliament elections in June and the U.S. elections in November. It could be that politics will be different then. One of my tasks is to prepare the company for new framework conditions. We have plans prepared for this.”
While Stellantis may need to make changes to its electrification plans depending on the results of these elections, it remains committed to a significant shift. Indeed, a spokesperson has confirmed the company is sticking with its Dare Forward 2030 plan that will see 100 percent of its European sales shift to battery-electric vehicles by 2030 while 50 percent of its U.S. sales will be BEVs by the same date.
On top of that, the European Union will ban the sale of most new combustion vehicles from 2035. In the U.S., California and at least 10 other states also intend on phasing out sales of combustion-powered cars and light trucks by 2035. While this may be applauded now, I truly believe the hype around EVs will die down very quickly.
Most of the future BEVs from Stellantis will also be based on its STLA Small, Medium, Large, and Frame architectures. However, it was recently revealed that the new ‘Smart Car’ platform of the Citroen e-C3 will underpin as many as 7 new production models from the marque, including from Fiat and Opel.
Well, at the end of the day, EVs are being adopted well now but too many EVs are riddled with too many problems and in its current form, it cannot hold a candle to the capabilities of internal combustion engines (ICE) so if and when, because I truly think ICE is set to make a huge comeback soon, opinions change, Stellantis will be fine.
We got all this from Carscoops and their full article is linked here. Thank you Carscoops for the information and images.
