Tag Archives: Stellantis

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Stellantis plans to invest 5.6 billion euros in South America

As part of the “Dare Forward 2030” strategic plan, Stellantis Group intends to invest over 50 billion euros worldwide in electric vehicles in the next 10 years, with the goal of achieving carbon neutrality by 2038. One of the markets that Stellantis is seriously counting on is South America, where it plans to invest 5.6 billion euros by the end of the decade.

In recent years, China has been a market where many global manufacturers have invested and opened facilities (independently or in partnership with domestic companies) for the production of electric vehicles. However, due to strained relations between Europe and China, regarding state subsidies for electric vehicles exported to Europe, European manufacturers are looking for other places for investment.

Stellanti has chosen South America as one of its most successful markets. This multinational automotive manufacturing corporation holds significant market shares on this continent (23.5 percent), and in Brazil alone they hold almost one third of the market (31.4 percent).

“The planned investments will support the launch of more than 40 new products in that period and the development of new biohybrid technologies, innovative decarbonization technologies in the supply chain of the automotive industry and new strategic business opportunities,” Stellantis announced.

The facility in the Brazilian city of Betim serves as the company’s global hub for bio-hybrid technology that combines electrification with hybrid engines that use biofuels such as ethanol. Expectations are that these technologies will be available by the end of 2024.

It should also be noted that at the end of 2023, Stellantis formed a joint venture with Leapmotor. 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. 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 for Stellantis, with which the group resets its strategy focused on electric vehicles after years of bad sales in China.

Source: Stellantis

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French government is proposing the merger of Renault and Stellantis

Renault and Stellantis are merging into a new Group that will have almost 20 brands under its roof. This Group should be created after the proposal of the French government, which is the majority owner of Renault but also owns shares in Stellantis.

Stellantis chairman John Elkann denied the merger plans, responding to media speculation about a tie-up with Renault, which he declined to comment on. On the other hand, the government has supported Renault CEO Luca de Mea’s strategy from the start to build a new electrical and software unit based in France called Ampere. However, the relationship between Renault and Ampere became volatile following the group’s 2022 exit from Russia, its second-largest market after France at the time.

The French and Italian media point out that both manufacturers have a common interest in the fight against competition, primarily against Chinese manufacturers. Although the French government is considering Renault’s merger with Stellantis, it continues to support the Renault Group’s strategy of remaining an independent carmaker with several industrial and technological partnerships.

In this situation, Renault would benefit the most, because Stellantis with its 14 brands is far more competitive with the big EV manufacturers, whose demand has been growing for years. Also, there is the option of establishing connections with Geely, Saudi Aramco, Google and Qualcomm.

Whether the management of Stellantis will accept the proposal of the French government remains to be seen.

Source: Reuters

News

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