After the 13 billion dollar strategic program in the USA and the expansion of the factory in Morocco, the CEO of Stellantis is now looking to the Old Continent: “Only if the ban on the sale of cars with internal combustion engines from 1 January 2035 is relaxed”
“We really believe that the regulation as it has been set by Brussels is wrong. Not halfway wrong, not imperfect, but simply wrong. We need to make sure Europe understands this.” The CEO of Stellantis doesn’t mince words Antonio Filosa in his speech atAutomotive Industry Day organized in Paris by Pfathe organization that brings together French companies active in the automotive sector. His participation takes on the contours of a real alarm on the crucial topic of the possible revision of the stop the sale of cars with petrol and diesel engines starting from 1 January 2035an obligation that has so far been widely discussed by public opinion and manufacturing companies, but which has always remained formally intact. As is known, the European Council dedicated to competitiveness held on 23 October certainly concluded with a declaration that seemed to open up very different options, citing the possibility of allowing the use of synthetic e-fuels or biofuels of agricultural origin, but the crucial topic has remained significantly under the radar for now: the main request is to move the ban, ideally to 1 January 2040. “There is such broad consensus among many operators in the sector that we do not consider a plan B. There is only plan A and we must push it towards European legislators and political authorities”, Antonio Filosa forcefully underlined.
USA and Morocco win
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The speech by the CEO of Stellantis cannot fail to mention the competitiveness factor of the continental industry, with the risks of delocalisation it runs. “The rules have forced the adoption of a single electric technology that we are willing to develop, but Chinese manufacturers have a huge competitive advantage. Europe’s industrial sovereignty is at risk due to dependence on China, which built its own independent ecosystem starting over 20 years ago. Europe will need at least 10 years to do the same.” The defense mechanism referred to by Antonio Filosa requires a common action of the continent’s car manufacturers. In the absence of which, the inevitable ones appear in his words individual initiatives that already they look to other horizons. Stellantis has launched a strategic investment program from 13 billion dollars in the USA over the next four years, the company calls it “the largest investment in the company’s 100-year history in the United States,” with more than 5,000 jobs expected to be created. Stellantis will then invest 1.2 billion euros in Morocco to increase car production in the African country, more than doubling (from 200 thousand to 535 thousand vehicles per year) the capacity of the Kenitra factory, inaugurated in 2019. “Stellantis will be able to make greater investments in Europe only if the ban on the sale of petrol cars is eased and continental manufacturers are free to innovate also in technologies other than the purely electric one”, summarizes Antonio Filosa.
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