Carlos Tavares, the boss of Stellantis, says his group is threatened by Chinese competition. Chinese manufacturers are increasing their announcements of opening production sites in Europe, but he does not rule out factory closures within his group. The Janais production site in Rennes must already lose its tooling activities, which will be relocated to Asia from this October. The announcement was made last June.
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Are Stellantis factories under threat? “We should not exclude anything,” replied Carlos Tavares in Les Echos this Sunday, October 13.
If the Chinese take 10% market share in Europe at the end of their offensive, that means they will produce 1.5 million cars. That’s seven assembly plants. European manufacturers will then have to either close them or transfer them to the Chinese.
Carlos Tavares, the boss of Stellantis
Volkswagen “shot first” by mentioning the closure of sites in Germany. “For our part, he underlined, there is no reason to accept a deterioration in our performance if the Chinese progress in Europe, even if we are going to maintain our breakeven point (the number of cars necessary to make a profit fixed costs) below the threshold of 50% activity”.
Also read. The La Janais site in Rennes, a showcase for the industry of tomorrow?
He added that closing the borders to Chinese products was a trap: “They will get around the barriers by investing in factories in Europe. Factories which will be partly financed by state subsidies, in low-cost countries,” explained the director general of Stellantis. Chinese electric vehicles sold in Europe must be subject to an import tax of up to 45% from the end of October. Some manufacturers like BYD have already announced that they are opening sites in Europe to avoid these surcharges.
Also read: A “nice catch” for Rennes Métropole. Safran chooses La Janais for its new aircraft engine foundry
Facing difficulties in North America and Europe, the boss of Stellantis reviewed his management team, notably replacing his financial director. The automotive group also confirmed the retirement of Mr. Tavares, 66, at the end of his mandate in January 2026. Stellantis had previously significantly revised downwards its margin targets for the year 2024, while it has published margins of more than 10% since the creation of the group in 2021.
(With AFP)
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