Carlos Tavares, CEO of Stellantis
Stellantis, Tavares: “Electrification is a political choice, not an industrial one”. New strategic plan on March 1st
One year after the merger between Fca And Peugeot-Psa in Stellantis (we talked about it here), Carlos Tavares, CEO of the group, says he is very satisfied with the results obtained, “especially in the context of 2021, a complicated year“, characterized by pandemic and semiconductor crisis.
In an interview with Corriere della Sera he explains: “We had to face the semiconductor crisis, inflation of raw material and the Covid crisis. We have created a new organization and a new governance in a company that is now much larger; we did it in a very short space of time with the remarkable results you know for the first half of the year. “
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And why focus on the value of cars rather than volumes, at the cost of higher prices, Tavares underlines: “It is a form of respect for the work of our employees. In 2013-2014, analyzing what we had to do to transform PSA, we realized that it was not normal to sell our products at a lower price than the competition. Selling them was not good. Quality cars deserve to be sold at the market price“.
“Since then we have made spectacular progress in quality, now we are on par with the best in the world. The growth in sales is the result of this strategy”, observes the CEO of Stellantis, noting that “it is also new technologies that are driving prices, especially those electric, which are from 50% more expensive than those of thermal engines “.
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While on the European Commission’s approach to energy transition and on the fact that Peugeot, Opel, Fiat will sell only electric cars in 2030, Stellantis CEO declares: “We respect the laws, but electrification is a technology of choice by politicians, not industry. There were cheaper and faster ways of reducing emissions. ”
“Our battle, continues Tavares, is now aimed at limit the impact of additional costs by 50% of the electric car“.” It means – explains the managing director of Stellantis – to have increases of productivity of 10% average per year, while the automotive industry in Europe typically reaches between 2% and 3%. We will see in a few years which producers will have survived and which will not. In 10 or 15 years we will also know the real results of electrification in reducing emissions. To put it simply, not looking at the entire life cycle of electric cars is an understatement. “
“The future of our sites will also depend on political constraints on decarbonisation in Europe and its aftermath “and” a year ago, I noticed that in Italy the cost of manufacturing a car it was significantly higher, sometimes double “and” this has to do with the organization of production, which needs to be improved “.
“A particular problem that concerns you, Tavare emphasizes, is the oversized price of energy. We have had an extremely virulent discussion with energy suppliers on this point. Compared to other countries where we are, it stands out “. On the resolution of costs, he comments:” It takes time, neither we will talk again at the end of 2022. Any brutal approach would have been inappropriate, we must first analyze and understand “.
Meanwhile, a note from the car manufacturer confirms the date of presentation of the new strategic plan, set for the next one the first of March. “The long-term strategic plan will be announced on the first day of March”, reads the note. “We still have a lot to do to keep improving our new company, but we’re on the right track,” he says Carlos Tavares, CEO of Stellantis.
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