Man who makes a living selling jeeps and rams says we can’t get rid of ICE cars – Jalopnik

The slowdown in electric vehicle sales has caused real headaches for carmakers, but in Europe the problems are particularly acute. And now Stellantis chairman John Elkann insists the industry needs more time to get its act together when it comes to the region’s carbon reduction targets.

Here’s Reuters (via Automotive News):

“There is another way to reduce emissions in Europe in a constructive and agreed way, to restore the growth we have lost and to meet the needs of the people,” Elkann said at an event on November 25 to mark the start of production of the new hybrid version of the Fiat 500 battery-electric car. The car industry’s proposals include allowing plug-in hybrids, extended-range EVs and alternative fuels to be sold after 2035, when a planned zero-emissions mandate will ban sales of new petrol and diesel cars across the EU.

Elkann also issued some ominous warnings about what could happen if the EU doesn’t agree to his recommendations, stressing that staying the course could lead to “irreversible decline.” Yes!

As Reuters noted, current forecasts for 2024 vehicle registrations in Europe are around three million lower than in 2019. The overall market is sluggish, yet it should be in a process of transformation, moving away from combustion technologies and towards electrification. The arrival of cheap electric cars from China complicates the situation.

Stellantis itself is also in a state of corporate strife. Former CEO Carlos Tavares left last year and his replacement, Antonio Filosa, is still finding his feet. This has put Elkann in the awkward position of taking on a higher profile than he may deem ideal. He must create the family car company, which was formed from the merger of Fiat and Chrysler, and then combine the resulting FCA conglomerate with the PSA Group. In this role he must now also serve as a kind of industrial statesman, dealing with the EU and the governments of Italy and France, as well as the US, where Stellantis relies on large pickups and SUVs to boost sales and profits.

EVs were supposed to help Europe move away from diesels, in the wake of Volkswagen’s dieselgate scandal. The EU has imposed tariffs on Chinese imports of EVs to protect the continent’s carmakers, but China has adopted a multi-pronged strategy, exporting combustion engine vehicles to markets such as Italy and Spain, where the Middle Kingdom believes it can gain market share despite weaker competition. In this context, Stellantis risks not challenging the Chinese in ICE vehicles if the European auto giant does not continue to invest in combustion platforms, as it will have to drop them to meet EV mandates. Elkann is of course far from alone: ​​every European car manufacturer is faced with the same dilemma. The transition was always going to be precarious, which is why European regulators thought the 2035 deadline would give automakers enough time to prepare for a massive shift away from burning gasoline.

But electric vehicle sales forecasts proved too optimistic, and now the European auto industry is dealing with the fact that it was never structured for such an aggressive timeline. The consequences are alarming, especially on an economic level. As Wired reported earlier this year: the industry “employs 13.8 million people across Europe and represents approximately 7 percent of the continent’s GDP.” Everything now goes against a review of emissions targets in December, so it is not surprising that the Elkann has taken the opportunity to use strong language to plead for breathing space.