Stellantis: electric cars cost 40-50% more to produce, but this will not slow down their development
Despite the fact that many global automakers are actively engaged in the development and production of “green” models, their mass production has not yet become cheaper.
Most large automotive companies, especially those for which the European market is one of the priorities, have long been engaged in the development and production of electric vehicles. The relatively young auto giant Stellantis, which was formed at the beginning of last year through the merger of the Italian-American company FCA and the French group PSA (the former names are not used now), did not stand aside. Recall that the head of this association is Carlos Tavares (previously he headed the PSA).
Carlos Tavares recently spoke to investors about the company's earnings for the second half of the year, as well as for all of 2021. He noted that to date, the Stellantis lineup includes 19 electric vehicles (various brands owned by the auto giant). He stressed that the company will continue to produce new “green” models, but it is still worth considering that the development and production of electric vehicles is still significantly more expensive compared to cars with traditional internal combustion engines.
The head of Stellantis described the high cost of electric vehicles as the “elephant in the room” and explained that today it is necessary to spend about 40-50% more on the creation of electric vehicles compared to conventional motor models. As a result, “battery” cars are also more expensive, but the manufacturer cannot fully pass on the increased costs to buyers.
According to Carlos Tavares, in the short term, one of the most important steps for Stellantis is to reduce internal costs, as well as enter into new profitable agreements with the auto giant's suppliers. According to Motor Trend, citing the head of the auto giant, Stellantis is 30% more efficient than most competitors. He explained that 2021 was an economically positive year, despite the fact that the plants produced only 6 million vehicles, although the capacity is designed to produce 8 million units.
As Kolesa.ru previously reported, last month Carlos Tavares questioned the contribution of electric vehicles to the fight against climate change during a conversation with reporters last month, also calling the massive transition to them a decision of politicians, not the auto industry. It is worth remembering that the European authorities plan to ban the sale of new passenger cars with internal combustion engines by 2035. At the same time, many existing engines will become a thing of the past even earlier, after 2025, when the strict environmental standards of Euro-7 power come into force.
Last summer, the auto giant announced its own strategy for the development of electric vehicles, the implementation of a massive plan will have to spend about 30 billion euros. With this money, it is planned to build five Gigafactories, create four platforms, develop and launch many new products. As we noted earlier, by 2030, the share of LEV (low-emission vehicles, that is, electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids) in the European sales structure of Stellantis should be 70%, in the US – 40%.