The CEO of Stellantis, maker of Jeep SUVs and Ram pickups, told the company’s shareholders Thursday to expect a major boost in the number of pure battery-electric vehicle models it offers and in the percentage of low-emission vehicles it sells over the next nine years.
Carlos Tavares, who leads the company that resulted from the merger in January of Peugeot maker PSA Group and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, offered a portrait of an entity committed to an electrified future, particularly in its two most important markets, Europe and the United States. He spoke during the merged company’s first annual general meeting for shareholders.
Tavares committed to increasing the share of low-emission vehicles the company sells in Europe from 14% in 2021 to 70% in 2030 and in the United States from 4% in 2021 to 35% in 2030. Those increases would be paired with a plan to boost the number of nameplates with low-emission vehicle offerings to 98% in Europe by 2025 and 96% in the United States by then. Low-emission vehicles include both plug-in electric hybrids and pure battery-electrics.
Tavares said the company would triple its low-emission vehicle sales this year compared with 2020 to more than 400,000 vehicles.
“This is what we’re going to deliver to the market. Please recognize that we are now accelerating this electrification move, and please recognize that we are perfectly on time and ready to deliver on the limited emissions or zero emissions mobility expectations of the markets in which we operate,” Tavares said.
Stellantis’ pledge to bolster its EV credentials continues the departure, particularly in messaging, from the days when the late FCA CEO Sergio Marchionne actively discouraged people from buying the Fiat 500e because he said he was sick of losing money on the electric vehicle.
Fiat Chrysler had been considered a laggard in the push toward electrification but had upped its commitments in recent years. The company has developed a plug-in electric version of its Jeep Wrangler, and Mike Manley, FCA’s CEO who is now head of the Americas for Stellantis, said the company would offer an electrified Ram pickup.
While plans for the future look relatively green, the company’s present includes vehicles with a different philosophy, such as the 702-horsepower 2021 Ram TRX and its 12 mpg combined fuel economy estimate.
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Still, Tavares has said the company would do its part to tackle emissions issues as it balances the costs of electrification, something he said would be helped along by the introduction of four platforms between 2023 and 2026 for battery-electric vehicles. Tavares noted that the company currently has more than 110 nameplates, and he said that developing four BEV platforms, presumably instead of many more, would help free up cash needed for EV development.
He laid out the expected driving range for each as well:
- Small, 311 miles
- Medium, 435 miles
- Large, 497 miles
- Frame (which would include large SUVs and pickups), 311 miles
These numbers, he said, would address range anxiety concerns, the worry that an EV driver might run out of electric power before reaching a destination.
In addition, Tavares said the company intends to control a larger portion of the components that go into electric vehicles, from platforms to motors to batteries. The company has battery factories planned in Germany and France and will announce more this year, including in North America, he said.
The company will offer a deeper look at its plans during Stellantis Electrification Day, currently slated for July 8.
Contact Eric D. Lawrence: elawrence@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter: @_ericdlawrence. Become a subscriber.