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Stellantis sold 5.5 million vehicles last year, including roughly 2.6 million in Europe, and generated sales of €156.9 billion
Bloomberg News
Stellantis NV’s strategy to make more hybrids is causing manufacturing delays in Europe because the automaker can’t source enough parts.
This month the company produced 20,000 fewer vehicles than expected as it didn’t have enough hybrid motors and the right kind of tires, according to Jean-Philippe Imparato, the head of Stellantis’ enlarged Europe region.
One issue is that the European Union recently changed rules for carbon emission targets, making sourcing more difficult with the firm typically buying parts three months in advance, he said Monday at a French senate hearing on government aid for businesses.
Stellantis has been rolling back an all-electric strategy following the departure of chief executive Carlos Tavares and weak car sales in Europe. The group, which is still looking for a new CEO, said earlier this year it would pool with Tesla Inc. and other manufacturers to buy carbon credits that can help it meet the stricter EU emissions rules.
“EVs didn’t work, so we pushed full speed on hybrids,” Imparato said. “Only that in two months, small, medium-sized and large suppliers don’t know how to adapt.”
Stellantis risks EU penalties of about €1.7 billion a year because low demand for EVs is likely to cause it to miss emission targets, Imparato said.
“Two years of this would kill the company,” Imparato said.
The European Commission said earlier this month that the bloc would grant carmakers a three-year window in which to hit carbon dioxide emissions targets that were originally set for this year. This is not enough, according to Imparato.
“They presented this as a gift, the possibility of doing an average between 2025, 2026 and 2027,” he said. “But if I don’t make those EV sales in 2025, I will have to make up for them in 2026. There is no market for EVs right now.”
Stellantis sold about 5.5 million vehicles last year, including roughly 2.6 million in Europe, and generated sales of €156.9 billion.
Bloomberg.com
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