Driving could become the preserve of the rich as Britain and other countries around the world impose bans on diesel and petrol cars and embrace electrification, the boss of Vauxhall owner Stellantis has warned.
The chief executive, who was speaking at a Financial Times conference, hit out at governments for forcing the automotive industry to switch to electric cars rather than considering other low carbon technology which might have been cheaper and easier to produce at scale.
Mr Taveres – whose firm also owns Fiat and Chrysler – urged politicians and environmental campaigners to consider the total lifecycle impact of the decision to go electric, which also takes in the impact of mining exotic metals for batteries, rather than focusing solely on how much less carbon they produce when running.