A year ago, Groupe PSA and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles merged to form Stellantis. A good time for Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares to criticize the increasing focus on electric cars.
Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares is not averse to a critical note and even now the former CEO of Groupe PSA makes a thorny comment about the pressure imposed from above in his view to switch to electric cars. “It is clear that far-reaching electrification is a choice of politicians, not the industry,” Tavares told the German Handelsblatt and the French Les Echos.
Tavares emphasizes that there are cheaper and faster ways to reduce CO2 emissions from cars. The CEO says that an electric car in Europe only compensates for its total CO2 emissions – including production – after 70,000 kilometers have been driven in approximately the same way as a lighter and cheaper hybrid car. In addition, the CEO fears other risks. For example, the European Union’s plan to ban the sale of new passenger cars with a combustion engine from 2035 may have major consequences for car and engine factories in Europe. In addition, suppliers may also run into problems, Tavares predicts. “The severity of a ban on the sale of cars with combustion engines entails social risks,” concludes the CEO.
The fact that Tavares is critical of the political pressure on the transition to EVs does not mean that Stellantis is investing less in electrification. Reportedly, Stellantis will unveil new plans for the future on March 1. The current plans for electrification were certainly not childish.
– Thanks for information from Autoweek.nl