Tag Archives: Stellantis

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930 million euros in subsidies for EV buyers in Italy

The Italian government has announced that it intends to use subsidies to encourage the purchase of electric cars, but also to help owners of cars with the Euro 2 standard to replace them with electric ones. This program includes a financial plan of 930 million euros (13,750 euros per car), which is a record amount of subsidies in Europe. The decision is not yet official, so the current demand for EVs dropped, which forced some manufacturers like Stellantis to start laying off employees.

Stellantis announced that due to reduced demand for EVs, it was forced to lay off more than 2,000 workers at the Mirafiori plant. This is not the first time that Stellantis makes such a decision, as a similar situation occurred at the end of last year.

The union is concerned about the decision to lay off a large number of workers and has asked Stellantis management for a meeting as soon as possible. “The layoffs will apply from February 12 to March 3 and will affect 1,250 workers who make the electric Fiat 500 and another 1,000 workers who work on the production of Maserati cars,” a company spokesman said.

The current global financial situation is not good, so saving every euro is important. As a result, buyers are holding off on purchasing electric vehicles while waiting for the government to implement the announced incentives.

Source: Stellantis

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Citroen e-C3 – Modern and affordable

The Romanian car manufacturer Dacia, as part of the Renault Group, records outstanding sales results in France. Every sixth car sold on the French market comes from a Romanian manufacturer, which is a result of the affordable prices of their vehicles. However, Citroen intends to take the position of the most affordable car in Europe with its new e-C3.

In 2022, Dacia delivered 573,800 vehicles worldwide, while Citroen sold 700k cars. Both companies have a long-term goal of selling one million vehicles annually globally, and the new Citroën e-C3 would be exactly what the French manufacturer needs at this time. A more modern, more equipped and more affordable city EV than the currently most affordable Dacia Spring.

A car from the B segment is 4 meters long, while the competitive Spring is 3.7 m long. The design, lane departure warning system and pedestrian detection automatic braking are standard in the e-C3. Citroën is also reducing the cost of its products, which is key to its role as Stellantis’ leader in the European market. The new Citroen e-C3 will be produced in the European Union and will cost 18,000 euros with a subsidy, while the Spring is produced in China and will cost 20,000 euros from next year. This is perhaps the biggest advantage at a time of strained relations between the European Union and China when it comes to electric cars produced in China.

The Citroen e-C3 will be powered by an electric motor with 113 hp (84 kW) and will be equipped with a 44 kWh battery that will allow a range of 320 km. As a reminder, Dacia Spring is powered by an electric motor with 45 hp (33 kW) and is equipped with a 26.8 kWh battery that enables a range of 230 kilometers.

Source: Citroen

Gallery:

2024 Citroen e-C3
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Stellantis invests €1.5 billion in a Chinese company

Following Volkswagen’s $700 million deal with Chinese company Xpeng, Stellantis formed a joint venture with Leapmotor. The world’s largest conglomerate will have a 51 percent stake and will have the rights to export, sell and manufacture Leapmotor electric vehicles outside of China.

At a press conference in the Chinese city of Hangzhou, Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares said: “We have not been so successful in China, so we prefer to rely on a Chinese partner. To win in China, it is better to win with a Chinese company.” This is a good strategic move by Stellantis, with which the group resets its strategy focused on electric vehicles after years of bad sales in China.

Stellantis intends to invest €1.5 billion to acquire approximately 20% of Leapmotor. This will be a good financial injection for the Chinese company to improve its sales results in the domestic market but also to expand its business outside of China. Shares of Leapmotor have risen about 22 percent in Hong Kong this year, and the company now has a market value of $5.4 billion. “Today it is a great milestone in Leapmotor’s history, and I am thrilled to witness this moment together with Mr. Tavares and his team. We believe in win-win partnerships formed by strong players in the fast-evolving environment. Working with Stellantis, we will continue to be innovative and creative in technology and business synergies and will bring Leapmotor EV cars to the global market,” said Leapmotor Founder Zhu Jiangming.

China is definitely the biggest electric car market in the world. However, large companies that have a well-developed global network, such as Tesla, raise the prices of electric cars, which threatens the business of smaller manufacturers. Leapmotor is one of them, and this cooperation will enable not only the survival of the company but also growth on a global level.

Source: Stellantis