Stellantis makes €30bil wager on EV market

MILAN/DETROIT: Stellantis, the world's No. 4 automaker, said today it plans to invest more than €30 billion (RM147bil) through 2025 on electrifying its vehicle lineup.

The company, which was formed in January from the merger of Italian-American automaker Fiat Chrysler and France's PSA, said its strategy will be supported by five battery plants in Europe and North America as it gears up to compete with electric vehicle (EV) leader Tesla and other automakers globally.

"This transformation period is a wonderful opportunity to reset the clock and start a new race," Stellantis chief executive Carlos Tavares said on a webcast. "The group is at full speed on its electrification journey."

Stellantis said at its "EV Day 2021" that it is targeting more than 70% of sales in Europe and over 40% in the United States to be low-emission vehicles - either battery or hybrid electric - by 2030. It aims to make the total cost of owning an EV equal to that of a gasoline-powered model by 2026.

It said all 14 of its vehicle brands - including Peugeot, Jeep, Ram, Fiat and Opel - will offer fully electrified vehicles. Another focus will be electrifying its commercial vehicle lineup, and rolling out hydrogen fuel-cell medium vans by the end of 2021.

Stellantis said that one of the five battery plants will be at its engine facility in Termoli, Italy, joining previously announced factories in Germany and France. The automaker has also said it will put one in the United States.

It wants to secure more than 130 gigawatt hours (GWh) of battery capacity by 2025 and more than 260 GWh by 2030. Stellantis said it has signed memorandums of understanding with two lithium geothermal brine process partners in North America and Europe to ensure supplies of lithium, a critical raw material for batteries.

Stellantis said it is targeting cutting battery pack costs by more than 40% from 2020 to 2024 and by more than an additional 20% by 2030. It plans to use two battery chemistries by 2024 - a high energy-density option and a nickel cobalt-free alternative. By 2026, it intends to introduce solid-state batteries.

The automaker said its EVs will be built on four electric platforms and have driving ranges of 500 to 800km on a single charge and fast charging capability of 32km per minute.

Merger synergies

At a separate EV strategy event last week, French rival Renault said 90% of its main brand models would be all-electric by 2030, whereas previously it had included hybrids in its target.

Germany's Volkswagen, the world's second-biggest automaker after Toyota, expects all-electric vehicles to account for 55% of its total sales in Europe by 2030, and more than 70% of sales at its Volkswagen brand.

General Motors Co said last month it planned to spend US$35 billion through 2025 on electric and self-driving vehicles. It has set a target of selling all new light cars and trucks with zero tailpipe emissions by 2035.

Earlier today, Stellantis flagged that 2021 got off to a better-than-expected start despite a global semiconductor chip shortage.

Stellantis said its margins on adjusted operating profits in the first half of 2021 were expected to exceed an annual target of between 5.5% and 7.5%, despite production losses due to the semiconductor supply crunch.

It said synergies from its merger were well on track to exceed the first year's target and would help to contribute to a positive cash flow for the year as a whole. Stellantis has promised more than €5 billion in annual synergies.