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EV cost burden pushing automakers to their limits, says Stellantis' CEO Tavares

DETROIT — Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares said external pressure on automakers to quickly shift to electric vehicles potentially threatens jobs and vehicle quality as producers struggle with EVs' higher costs. Governments and investors want car manufacturers to speed up the transition to electric vehicles, but the costs are "beyond the limits" of what the auto industry can sustain, Tavares said in an interview at the Reuters Next conference released Wednesday. "What has been decided is to impose on the automotive industry electrification that brings 50% additional costs against a conventional vehicle," he said. "There is no way we can transfer 50% of additional costs to the final consumer because most parts of the middle class will not be able to pay." Automakers could charge higher prices and sell fewer cars, or accept lower profit margins, Tavares said. Those paths both lead to cutbacks. Union leaders in Europe and North America have warned tens of thousands of jobs could be lost. Automakers need time for testing and ensuring that new technology will work, Tavares said. Pushing to speed that process up "is just going to be counter productive. It will lead to quality problems. It will lead to all sorts of problems," he said. Tavares said Stellantis is aiming to avoid cuts by boosting productivity at a pace far faster than industry norm. "Over the next five years we have to digest 10% productivity a year ... in an industry which is used to delivering 2 to 3% productivity" improvement, he said. "The future will tell us who is going to be able to digest this, and who will fail," Tavares said. "We are putting the industry on the limits." Electric vehicle costs are expected to fall, and analysts project that battery electric vehicles and combustion vehicles could reach cost parity during the second half of this decade. Like other automakers that earn profits from combustion vehicles, Stellantis is under pressure from both establishment automakers such as GM, Ford, VW and Hyundai, as well as start-ups such as Tesla and Rivian. The latter electric vehicle companies are far smaller in terms of vehicle sales and employment. But investors have given Tesla and Rivian higher market valuations than the owner of the highly profitable Jeep and Ram brands. That investor pressure is compounded by government policies aimed at cutting greenhouse gas emissions. The European Union, California and other jurisdictions have set goals to end sales of combustion vehicles by 2035.

You've seen the Ferrari Monza SP1 and SP2, now hear them in action

The moment the Ferrari Monza SP1 and SP2 debuted in 2018, they became instant classics. They're exclusive, they're powerful, they're stunningly gorgeous, and they incorporate hints of past Prancing Horses. It's a rare blend that guarantees collector status. But until now, only still photos have been released. A new video shows the speedsters in action and plays a tune that will make gearheads weep. The SP1 and SP2 are the first vehicles of a new class of Ferraris called "Icona." These icon cars bring the past into the present in the form of limited-edition specialty craftworks made for high-status clients and collectors. The SP1, a single-seater, and the SP2, a two-seater, evoke the spirit and design of Ferrari's barchettas of the '40s and 50s. The battle cry heard throughout the video comes from the Monzas' massive heart, the most powerful naturally aspirated V12 engine Ferrari has ever created. Using technology taken from Formula 1 engines, it makes 799 horsepower at a hair-raising 8,500 rpm and 530 lb-ft of torque at 7,000 rpm. Based on the 812 Superfast, the Monzas use extensive carbon fiber bodywork to create a sultry shape that will look good in any era, past, present, or future. Watch these timeless beings in motion in the full video above. Related Video:

LaFerrari gets shakedown from Fernando Alonso

Fernando Alonso is quite cool behind the wheel, as evidenced by an earlier video where he gave a full interview while actively hooning a Ferrari F12 around the Nürburgring. So when you see the Spaniard somber-faced and sweating while hustling a Ferrari LaFerrari around the Scuderia's Fiorano test track, you know the new hypercar is pretty demanding.
Alonso doesn't give commentary on this one (except to the engineers at the end), but he does wrestle the 949-horsepower hybrid around the track. It does look like a handful. Take a look below for the full video.