“Uncertainty over the European regulation’s future on auto emissions gives Chinese competitors already ahead of the game an additional advantage,” Stellantis chief executive Carlos Tavares stated at a conference in Berlin on Tuesday (October 25).
Euro 7 Standards a ‘Diversion’
The CEO said that the Euro 7 standards, tightening car emission limits for pollutants including carbon monoxide and nitrogen oxides from 2025, are a “diversion from the major goal of electrification.”
“I don’t think Europe needs Euro 7… it is going to divert part of our research and development power to something we don’t need, while our Chinese competitors enter the market with the single technology of battery-electric vehicles,” he said.
“Why are we using our resources for a technology we want to ban? It’s not common sense.”
The Stellantis CEO called for a softening of Europe’s ban on fossil-fuel-emitting cars from 2035 during the Paris Motor Show this month. He warned that social turmoil would occur if combustion engine vehicles were banned before affordable electric cars were made available.
While speaking at the Automobilwoche Kongress conference in Berlin, the Stellantis boss forecasted that affordable battery-electric vehicles are still five to six years away.
Stellantis’ Major Challenge
When asked what the company sees as its major challenge in the upcoming year, he pointed out the risk of falling behind the Chinese as the central issue for Western automakers over any concern like energy or semiconductors.
“If there is one thing to be afraid of, it is the decline of the Western world. We need to work more efficiently to beat the Chinese not only on technology but also on quality, price, service… that is the major issue we have in front of us,” he said.
