In January 2022, Citroën announced that its high-roof station wagons Berlingo and Spacetourer, including its derivative Opel Zafira, can now only be ordered with an electric drive. The decision is a “strong decision to accelerate electrification for the benefit of customers and the environment.” In the summer of 2024, everyone, including the parent company Stellantis, knows: Not only has there been no acceleration, there has been a significant deceleration. This leads to a remarkable discrepancy between chairman Carlos Tavares and European boss Uwe Hochgeschurtz, one continuing to express his skepticism, the other seeing everything going well. The concession would probably be correct: the strong electrical strategy is stuck in EU nonsense. Instead, it says: “Thanks to its unique manufacturing strategy for different drive types, Stellantis is able to respond quickly to the rapidly growing number of orders for hybrid models across Europe.” Well, let’s remember, Stellantis with its brands Fiat, Opel, Peugeot, DS , Citroën, Jeep or Alfa Romeo make progress at low-voltage speed. In Germany the joy of electric cars is stagnant, in France it depends on subsidies, the Italians don’t want to hear about it. Scandinavia is running, but there are no volumes to be made there. So there will soon be more hybrids, essentially electrified gasoline engines. By the way, the Berlingo, the all-purpose car for hobby gardeners, small families or cyclists, is quietly back on offer with petrol and diesel engines. Small problem: Stellantis has apparently no longer developed powerful engines. That’s why the inherently stylish new Alfa Junior has to make do with a 136-hp 1.2-liter three-cylinder engine that’s unworthy of a sports heart. This all sounds a lot like an impending stress test. In the Stellantis house. And elsewhere too.
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