Carlos Tavares has never hidden his distrust of a future of the car in which there is only one protagonist, in other words electric. The CEO of Stellantis did not miss the opportunity to reiterate it when commenting on the record results obtained by the group in 2022, driven by the boom in sales of BEVs which increased by 41%. But Tavares’ position has always been clear: nothing against the electric in itself, rather a criticism towards those who want to impose this diet at all costs without leaving room for choice either for consumers or even less for car manufacturers.
“Without incentives electric cars are still too expensive for the middle class. The challenge is how quickly you will be able to reduce costs to sell them even without – declared the Portuguese manager – We are the fastest growing company in BEV sales, we have good models, our technology is appreciated. Some of our competitors have cut prices for tactical reasons. I guess they did it because they are not happy with their electric sales results. We have done +41% only in Europe and we will start in the USA this year”. Confirming Stellantis’ intention not to underestimate the electric sector, the group’s number one announced the imminent opening of three new Gigafactories dedicated to the production of batteries: the first will be operational in Douvrin, France, from 2024, even if the batteries for tests will already be produced this year, the second will be made in Germany, the third instead in Italy, in Termoli.
Finally, Tavares focused on the Euro 7 regulatory issue, with words that leave no room for too many interpretations regarding his position: “It’s useless because it’s too expensive and doesn’t bring benefits for the environment and health. It’s just a distraction“. The CEO of Stellantis is not the only prominent manager to have criticized the stringent new regulation: in recent weeks, even his counterpart in Renault, Luca De Meo, had spent pessimistic words on the matter, speaking of “costs outweigh the benefits“.
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