Stellantis Discusses Its Electrification Plans For South America!

Stellantis CEO, Carlos Tavares, ended a three-day visit to the company’s facilities in Brazil this past week, highlighting the importance of the country and the South American market for the group’s strategy to achieve the ambitious goals of becoming a “Technology Company of Mobility”. In its “Dive Forward 2030” global strategic plan, the company is electrifying its portfolio of brands and halving carbon emissions by the 2030 model year.

“South America is a strategic region for the group and has behaved in an exemplary manner in terms of operations, results, and understanding of strategies,” said Tavares.

Stellantis ended its first year of operations with an operating profit of €152 billion, of which €10.7 billion ($11.7 billion USD) was generated in South America. The region sold 830,000 vehicles in 2021 and posted an operating profit of €882 million ($968 million USD).

Carlos Tavares reiterated the main objectives set for the company in South America until 2030, the horizon of the Dare Forward 2030 strategic plan: market share equal to or greater than 25% and that hybrid and electric vehicles equal approximately 20% of the sales mix. He affirmed that South America will have the necessary resources to invest in projects that are strategic and profitable, and pointed out that Stellantis plans to invest €14 billion ($15.4 billion USD) a year worldwide, with emphasis on electrification and software projects.

Electrification projects can be combined in Brazil with the use of ethanol, a fuel with low environmental impact and which is an advantage for the country. Combining ethanol with electrification creates an even more environmentally and accessibility-friendly technology, and this is the direction Stellantis needs to go. This combination, according to Tavares, makes clean propulsion accessible to a broader range of consumers.

Evaluates that electric technology still has a high cost, which tends to fall as production expands. But this increase in volumes should happen first in the United States, China, and Europe, reducing costs and allowing expansion in other markets, such as Latin America.

The plan also contemplates the launch of 16 models in Latin America by 2025, in addition to 7 electric and hybrid models. Also planned for the period are 28 restyling of models and the advancement of the electrification of the range in synergy with ethanol, in addition to investments in autonomous driving, connectivity and new services.

Carlos Tavares described the results obtained in the region as excellent, saying they could have been better without the problems stemming from the shortage of semiconductors.

“The fact is that South America has achieved an exemplary performance. It is a competitive team looking for leadership,” he added.

Source: Stellantis