More Hybrid Cars for Stellantis, New Plan for Italian Factories in June

The “ Piano Italia ” presented on December 17, 2024 by Stellantis will be updated and re-presented in June, taking into account the new market conditions. This was anticipated by Jean-Philippe Imparato, chief operating officer for the Enlarged Europe Region of Stellantis (i.e. operating director of the EU, United Kingdom, Switzerland and Norway markets) during his speech at the Automotive Dealer Day , the event dedicated to car distribution and automotive services currently underway in Verona. “We believe that Italy deserves to be supported by Stellantis,” explained Imparato, “so we have presented a plan that concerns all the group’s Italian factories, from Mirafiori, where the new hybrid 500 will be produced from November with a potential of 130 thousand units, to Pomigliano, where we will make a medium compact car and the new Pandina from 2029, up to Melfi”. However, since last December, many things have happened in Europe, thanks also to the actions of the Italian government, increasing the capacity to sell hybrid models in Europe and also in Italy: “For this reason”, continued the Stellantis manager, “it is necessary to update the Plan, meeting the government in a few days, to introduce updates in terms of engines, commercial vehicles and Maserati , for which we already declared in December that we wanted to do something clear and serious, being a fantastic brand”. The updated Italian Plan will be presented in June and, according to Imparato, “it will be done, it will be done until the end, because we do not want to give up: I do not agree with the concept according to which the war is over and the Chinese have won, our intention is to do our job and to do it with the dealer network , without which we cannot move forward”.

All this does not mean that the difficulties do not exist for the sector: “When you look at the costs”, explained Imparato, “there is a 40 euro per kW advantage for the Chinese on the cost of the battery; producing in Europe is a challenge, but one that can be won . The key points are the cost of labor and energy: producing a car in France costs twice what it costs in Spain, three times as much in Italy, four times as much in Germany. To the cost of energy is then added the cost of regulations: the countries of Southern Europe, such as Italy, Spain, France and Portugal, prefer models in the B segment . Respecting the European rules for safety, crash tests and Adas, costs 2-3 thousand euros more on top of the production price : it is no longer acceptable. We want to produce here, but at competitive costs, so we must also lighten the costs of the regulations which are perhaps more important than the cost of labor”. These are objectives that must be "brought home quickly, with discussions that will begin in June with ACEA ( the association of European manufacturers, ed. ), but which require a rapid shake-up, to allow the survival of the European industry in the sector".

The emissions target set for Stellantis foresees 20% electric cars in the period 2025-27 to avoid EU fines, but at a continental level the Bev market is stuck at 17%. “Do we want to kill 13 million European workers in the sector?”, Imparato asked; “By pushing on the network,” he continued, “we could reach 15-20%, killing everyone’s margins, without reaching the required level and without solving the problem, which is different: we are working on a market of 15 million new cars, on a fleet of 256 million, half of which are over ten years old . Our official position maintains that we must work to renew the fleet by selling as many hybrid, plug-in, extended range cars as possible to reduce the real and global emissions of the fleet, obtaining an effect on CO2 emissions far greater than that obtainable by selling new electric cars. To get there, we need a European scrapping of all cars over ten years old and commercial vehicles over seven ; furthermore, a simplification of the regulations is necessary, because approving a segment B car and a 150 thousand euro sedan has the same cost and this is unsustainable. The production cost of a car alone ranges from 500 to 2,000 euro, the homologation fee from 2,000 to 3,000 euros. Finally, we need to work on European integration to overcome the competitive gap in battery production costs compared to Chinese producers”.

Finally, for Imparato, the new models are not a problem: “Between the second half of 2024 and the first half of 2025 we will reach 14 launches: my challenge is to bring home the greatest number of hybrid car sales, because not everyone wants electric cars and I believe that in 2030 the BEV share will be around 40%, certainly not 100%. So we need cars that people can buy, at affordable prices ,” concluded Imparato.