Incentives provide an important weight in supporting the adoption of electric mobility and confirmation came from recently published ACEA data, which showed a loss of momentum in sales growth due to the disappearance of state subsidies. And it is precisely this data that reinforces the alarm raised by the CEO of Stellantis , Carlos Tavares, during the conference call on the group's annual results: "Without incentives, electric cars are still too expensive for the middle class," the top manager said. . "Where incentives exist, sales increase, where they stop they decrease, as happened in Germany. The challenge is how quickly it will be possible to reduce the cost of selling them even without subsidies."
Decision imposed from above
Of course, for Tavares, "electromobility must be made accessible with incentives and by reducing production costs thanks to the restructuring of our activities." And there is no shortage of concerns for the entire automotive industry: 'Globally, new challenges are constantly being imposed on the automotive industry, as if it has no limits to withstand crises. I think it's not right for people working in this sector, I think there should be a limit." One of the big challenges is electrification. Tavares reiterated that the decision to make the European fleet 100% electric "was not taken by manufacturers but by governments elected through a democratic process. That said, we have a responsibility to provide simple, safe and clean solutions to guarantee freedom of mobility to our citizens. There is a very important cost challenge there, it happens when new technologies start to be developed, the additional costs have to be absorbed in some way."
Industry at risk
"The danger is that if the middle class cannot buy cars, the market will shrink significantly, and if the market shrinks, then the industry will shrink," Tavares observed. "We need to optimise the way we sell, produce and supply to absorb the additional costs imposed by the policy. We try to take the most humane approach and we respect people, but it would be demagogic not to tell the truth: Society has decided on a new way of experiencing mobility, which, at the moment, is not yet accessible, and my responsibility is to transform the group to allow people to have accessibility." Of course, "the industry has been pushed into a corner."
The results
In any case, Tavares reiterated that Stellantis will comply with the political imperatives with a strategy that is already producing results. "We are satisfied with our electric car sales and we have not yet launched the offensive in the US, which will start this year with the Ram ProMaster. We are the company with the fastest growth rate in BEV sales, we have good models and our technology is appreciated." The group already has 23 electric vehicles for sale and will reach 32 within this year and 47 by the end of 2024 and to support the offensive it has launched a whole range of initiatives in raw material sourcing and battery production, with a plan for three giant factories in Europe progressing in line with forecasts. The Douvrin plant will come on stream this year, the Kaiserlautern plant in 2025 and the Termoli plant in 2026. Still on the electricity front, Tavares expressed no fears of a possible price war: "Some of our competitors have lowered prices for tactical reasons. I assume they did it because they are not happy with their sales results in electric cars. We did +41% only in Europe and we will start this year in the US."
Euro 7 is "useless"
During the conference call, other relevant issues for Stellantis and the automotive industry were apparently discussed, starting with the Euro 7 standards. Tavares once again expressed all his scepticism, talking about the new regulation concerning emissions, "useless and meaningless because it is too expensive and brings no benefits for the environment and health, it is just a distraction". On the other hand, the part about pollution produced by tyres and brakes was positive, while on the semiconductor front the situation "continues to improve, albeit not to perfect levels". The prices of 'some raw materials are also freezing', which will determine a future stabilisation of production costs. Finally, he referred to the logistics issue, which Tavares said 'will be resolved' in a few months.
