Stellantis CEO to dealers on bumpy EV sales: 'Deal with it'

Stellantis NV CEO Carlos Tavares' message to dealers and suppliers struggling over profitability on a bumpy road to increasing adoption of electric vehicles is: "Deal with it."

Tavares' remarks on Monday during a media roundtable at the Paris Motor Show came mostly in the context of the European market, where Stellantis will have 40 all-electric vehicles available by the end of the year. Tavares called for stability of regulations in the region and said the automaker would comply with the ban on the sale of non-zero-emission vehicles by 2035 there.

But the company is launching its first all-electric vehicles from its major U.S. brands — Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep and Ram — for retail customers in the coming months, and Tavares said Stellantis is ready for the more difficult emissions and fuel economy regulations instituted by the Biden administration. There, however, are no plans to bring low-cost EVs from Chinese EV partner Zhejiang Leapmotor Technology Co. Ltd. to the United States.

"We want to be on the right side of history," Tavares said. "We do not ask for any kind of delay. We just ask for the stability of the rules to be working properly and serving the societies in which we are operating. And I think that if you ask to delay, it means then all of this is not a significant problem. So the fires, the flooding, the hurricanes, all of this is not a problem.

"... The other day, my youngest daughter was driving her car in a forest in Portugal, and the forest was on fire," he later continued. "She had to drive through the forest on fire. The door panel on the right hand side melted. So how do you feel if one of your daughters is in this position and you say, 'I'm going to ask to dispose the CO2 regulations'? There is a moment where we need to face reality. If the problem is real, we must contribute to fix it. Is it tough? Yes, it's super tough. There is no discussion. It's super tough. But I think it's the right thing to do."

He also noted the longer the transition from internal combustion engine vehicles to electric vehicles, the more it costs to keep both technologies updated and operational. Stellantis has spent around $27 billion (25 billion euro) on EVs and now is spending about $15 billion (14 billion euro) per year on them.

His remarks come amid a tough year for Stellantis. Last week, it announced a series of executive shuffles that Tavares said he expects to yield better profitability, market share and customer satisfaction results. Tavares also will be stepping down as CEO at the end of his term in early 2026, though he declined to share details on the successor selection process.

Stellantis also has posted dismal U.S. sales through the first nine months of the year and is working on reducing inventory levels that had dealers in an uproar. Meanwhile, it's battling with the United Auto Workers over contract terms, with the union threatening to strike.

Introducing EVs to the major U.S. brands for retail customers is expected to bring a new set of challenges. Tavares said many customers aren't willing to pay more for an EV than a gas- or diesel-powered vehicle; they want to see the infrastructure available to charge EVs and they want ownership to be convenient. That's often not the case now with EVs, but the company has to sell them to meet the regulations, he said.

"You insert an additional cost of 40% in a system, which is very constrained, obviously it creates a lot of tension, and obviously it creates anxiety," he said. "We are all facing the same reality. And my people, they also have anxiety, but we are dealing with it. We are dealing with it, and everybody needs to take a fair share and deal with it."

He called upon dealers to lobby the government to support demand through EV subsidies "so that they don't have to push the EVs in the mouth of consumers that may not be so excited about it." Tavares said automakers that aren't in compliance should be fined and that those fines should go toward making EVs affordable.

In the United States, there is an up to $7,500 tax credit for customers to buy an EV under the Inflation Reduction Act, legislation that Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump has criticized. If Trump beats Democratic nominee Kamala Harris, then Stellantis will adapt, Tavares said.

Stellantis is bringing to market all-electric vehicles, including the Dodge Charger Daytona muscle car, Jeep Wagoneer S and Recon SUVs and Ram 1500 REV truck. Chrysler's first all-electric vehicle is expected in 2025. Already available has been the Fiat 500e city car and the electric Ram ProMaster commercial van.

The automaker last year announced it was investing in Leapmotor, a startup. The companies formed a joint venture to sell Leapmotor vehicles internationally and have plans to produce Leapmotor vehicles in Europe. Tavares previously suggested vehicles from the affiliate's technology could be built in North America, but he said there currently are no plans to bring Leapmotor vehicles to the United States, even knowing that Chinese vehicles will be sold in the country at some unknown point.

"There is," Tavares said, "enough to be done somewhere else."