According to Tavares, politicians chose electrification and not the auto industry.
Stellantis announced some of its electrification plans last September.
Both Stellantis’ CEO Carlos Tavares and Toyota’s Akio Toyoda have been very vocal in the last year or so about electrifying the automobile. Back in December, Tavares said that the cost of developing and building EVs is beyond the limits of what the auto industry can realistically handle. This time, he points the finger at politicians for sending the industry down a dangerous path.
“What is clear is that electrification is a technology chosen by politicians, not by industry,” is what Tavares said as reported by Automotive News Europe. He is alluding to the fact that there are less expensive and crucially faster ways to reduce our global transportation carbon emissions.
“Given the current European energy mix, an electric car needs to drive 70,000 kilometres to compensate for the carbon footprint of manufacturing the battery and to start catching up with a light hybrid vehicle, which costs half as much as an EV (electric vehicle),” he said.
Stellantis to spend over $35 billion by 2025, mostly towards EVs
Even so, Stellantis revealed its plans to electrify much of its fleet in the next decade and beyond. Details about a new long-term strategic plan for assembly plants in Europe and other information will be announced on March 1st.
