3 ‘of reading
The car is preparing for the most important post-war change to today, with the slow but planned abandonment of heat engines to make room for electric propulsion. It will not happen “tomorrow” but within a decade the fleet in circulation will change radically, as confirmed by the many announcements of car manufacturers ready to say goodbye to traditional engines. The reason for this radical change? Respond to the requests of the institutions, starting with the European Union which has shown itself to be the major antagonist of the thermal car by setting million-dollar fines for those who do not respect the strict constraints on the emissions front.
Of course, the manufacturers have not been waiting and are ready to launch fully electric ranges based on modular platforms and technological innovations to meet the needs of the mobility of the future, starting with software capable of managing level 4 autonomous driving (where the car replaces the motorist) as in the case of the Volkswagen Group. The German company directed by Herbert Diess has unveiled its cards on the future by announcing the Next Auto plan, where six gigafactories will arrive against an investment of 63 billion euros and novelties such as the future modular SSP platform that will combine unified software and scalable ready for autonomous driving and solid state batteries with high autonomy and fast charging times.
Loading …
Read also
In the future it will be possible to build all the models of the group on the SSP, with over 40 million cars in its life cycle. Within the group, Audi has announced that from 2026 it will no longer market new thermal models and from 2033 it will only market electric cars. Of course, Stellantis is not lacking among the most active manufacturers on the front of the transition to electric. The group led by Carlos Tavares aims to make the total cost of ownership of electric vehicles equivalent to that of vehicles with internal combustion engines by 2026. Overall, more than 30 billion euros will be invested by 2025 in electrification and software . The entire Stellantis range, from compact to maxi pick-ups for the American market, will be based on four exclusively electric platforms (Stla Small, Medium, Large and Frame) with ranges from 500 to 800 kilometers. The supply of batteries will be guaranteed by five gigafactories by 2030, including one in Italy, with a supply of over 260 GWh. By switching to Renault within nine years, it aims to have 90% of its electric model offering and will invest 10 billion by 2025. Compared to the competition, it will offer iconic models of the past in an electric version, such as the R5 or R4.
Remaining in the old continent, Mercedes has put over 70 billion on the plate for the transition to electric, in addition to the 40 announced this week ready to be invested between 2022 and 2030. The Stuttgart brand is ready to go fully electric by the end of the decade, launching 3 new all-electric architectures starting in 2025. To power a range of 20 electric models and no fewer than 25 plug-in hybrids, Mercedes will build eight gigafactories with a total capacity of over 200 gigawatt hours. .
A zero-emissions strategy also for the BMW group which announced that Mini will become an exclusively electric brand starting from 2030, the year of the definitive transition also for Volvo, Land Rover and Ford on the European market. Jaguar, on the other hand, will say goodbye to cylinders and pistons as early as 2025, as announced by the Reimagine plan. Leaving Europe, the Hyundai group (Hyundai and Kia brands) has announced a very aggressive electric strategy, which foresees the arrival of 23 100% electric models by 2025, of which eleven based on the new E-GMP platform. New realities could be added to traditional manufacturers, such as the Chinese giant Xiaomi, which has put 10 billion dollars on the electric car.