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Stellantis to offer electric versions of most of its European lineup by 2025

Newly merged automaker conglomerate Stellantis will offer electric versions of almost all of its European lineup by 2025, it said on Thursday, as the auto industry faces regulatory pushes in Europe and China to accelerate the shift to zero-emission cars. Formed in January by the merger of France's PSA and Italian-American group Fiat Chrysler, Stellantis is the world’s fourth largest carmaker with 14 brands including Opel, Jeep, Ram and Maserati, and like its peers faces an investor community keen for a road map to an electric lineup to rival Tesla . Speaking during Stellantis' first annual shareholders meeting, Chief Executive Carlos Tavares said that in 2021 the carmaker expects sales of electrified vehicles — that is, both plug-in hybrids and fully electric models — to more than triple to over 400,000 units in 2021. By 2025, electrified vehicles should make up 38% of European sales, a huge jump from the 14% of sales it expects in 2021. Tavares said by 2030 electric models should make up 70% of European sales and 35% of U.S. sales. He said Stellantis will use four electric platforms for passenger vehicles across its 14-brand empire — small, medium and large sizes for cars, and "frame" for high-margin SUVs and pickup trucks. Sweden's Volvo said this month its lineup would be fully electric by 2030, and Ford Motor Co said in February its lineup in Europe would be too. BMW has said at least 50% of its car sales should be fully-electric models by 2030. Sales of electric and plug-in hybrid cars in the European Union almost trebled to over 1 million vehicles last year, accounting for more than 10% of overall sales. Green Alfa Romeo Fiat Jeep Maserati Citroen Lancia Opel Peugeot Vauxhall Electric Hybrid Stellantis

Stellantis will give its brands 10 years to prove they deserve to live

Formed by the merger of PSA Peugeot-Citroen and Fiat-Chrysler Automobiles, Stellantis has 14 brands under its roof, a number that makes it one of the largest groups in the industry. Rumors claimed not every brand would survive, with Chrysler often earmarked to get axed, but the firm said it will give them all a chance to shine. "We're giving each (brand) a chance, giving each a time window of 10 years and giving funding for 10 years to do a core model strategy. The CEOs need to be clear in brand promise, customers, targets, and brand communications," announced Stellantis boss Carlos Tavares during the Financial Times' Future of the Car event. His comments confirm Chrysler fans and dealers don't need to worry about the future — at least not yet. And, against all odds, Lancia enthusiasts can breathe a sigh of relief, too. Former FCA head Sergio Marchionne warned of the brand's demise on several occasions. Alfa Romeo is safe for now, too, as is Vauxhall, which are basically just Opels sold in the United Kingdom with a different badge. The engagement made by Tavares also means Stellantis won't divest any of its brands to raise capital until at least 2031. It's now up to each executive team to make a case for the brand they run, an unusual survival-of-the-fittest strategy in an era when cutting costs is more common than spending cash. Diving into the vast Stellantis parts bin should help even the most troubled brands turn their fortunes around on a relatively tight budget. It seems likely that survive Chrysler will need to look beyond the 300 and the Pacifica/Voyager, the only models in its range, and completely reinvent its image, which is currently nebulous at best. Lancia, once the champion of luxury, performance, and innovation, faces the same challenge. It's not starting quite from scratch, it's relatively popular in its home country of Italy, but it will need to think globally and expand outside of the city car segment to survive. Featured Gallery 2020 Chrysler 300 View 24 Photos Chrysler Dodge Fiat Jeep RAM Citroen Lancia Opel Peugeot Vauxhall

Opel execs wonder how recent GM moves will alter their business

The ship called Opel has been heaving through a storm, non-stop, for more than a decade. The aborted sale in 2009 when General Motors decided it could do better than potential buyers only led to estimates of up to $20 billion in costs to GM, more years of turnaround plans, retreat from global markets and churn at the CEO position. It was thought that this year, with Karl-Thoman Neumann at the helm, the promise of a $5.2 billion investment, the withdrawal of the Chevrolet brand from Europe and a bit of breathing room, it could finally settle into a calmer rhythm. According to a report in Reuters, recent moves at GM have Opel execs worried that that might not be the case.
Opel has been asking to make more Euro-centric offerings in order to compete with rivals. But the appointment of Mary Barra to the top slot at GM and her past experience at harmonizing product development, as well as former boss Stephen Girksy's departure as GM vice chairman, has insiders worried that they'll be pushed even more to make do with global product. On top of that, their best chance of getting specialized goods took a hit when GM began to untie its bond with PSA/Peugeot-Citroën that had promised a new compact-car platform. The Corsa, a model that Opel needs to do well but can't because it's seven years old, was hit hardest by that news.
These facts mean that the multibillion-dollar investment won this year to develop 23 models and 13 engines over the next two years will need to go further. GM told Reuters "there [is] no change in its stance on Opel," but, as an analyst said, "Rebuilding a weak brand takes years of delivering outstanding product." The question is whether GM's stance - and its commitment to Euro-focused product - will stay consistent long enough to give Neumann and Opel a real shot.