PARIS –The European Fee’s technique to part out combustion engines in favor of EVs is a political selection that carries environmental and social dangers, Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares stated in an interview with European newspapers.

Since merging Fiat Chrysler and Peugeot-maker PSA Group, Tavares has mapped out a 30 billion euro (US$34 billion) electrification plan that helped Stellantis shares surge greater than 60 per cent of their first yr.

“What is evident is that electrification is a expertise chosen by politicians, not by business,” he stated in a joint interview with France’s Les Echos, Handelsblatt, Corriere della Sera and El Mundo.

He added there have been cheaper and quicker methods of lowering carbon emissions.

“Given the present European power combine, an electrical automotive must drive 70,000 kilometres (44,000 miles) to compensate for the carbon footprint of producing the battery and to begin catching up with a light-weight hybrid automobile, which prices half as a lot as an EV,” he stated.

He additionally stated a ban on inner combustion engine autos by 2035 in Europe means carmakers want to begin remodeling their crops and provide chains shortly. Canada has applied “a compulsory goal” that by 2035 all new light-duty autos bought should be zero-emissions. It isn’t a ban or regulation, however a goal. 

“The brutality of this alteration creates social danger,” he stated.

In an in depth interview which touched on the varied challenges Stellantis is dealing with, Tavares additionally nuanced his promise to not shut down crops in Europe.

“I typically maintain on to the guarantees I make, however we additionally want to stay aggressive,” he stated, citing specifically manufacturing prices in Italy which had been “considerably increased, generally the double of these at crops in different European nations,” primarily because of “exorbitant” power costs.

Pointing to Rome, the place the federal government is working to deliver down industrial prices, he stated: “It takes a while for the measures to be applied. We are going to talk about this once more on the finish of 2022.”

Stellantis will announce a brand new long-term strategic plan on March 1.