Tavares says Strantis must “become Chinese” to win

Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares believes the best way to compete with China’s emerging electric vehicles is to adopt the same low-cost mindset and find ways to build electric vehicles at lower costs.

Tavares has previously spoken out against EU tariffs on Chinese electric cars, calling them “a major trap for countries that follow this path” and saying they would not encourage Western carmakers to make the changes necessary to properly challenge Chinese competitors. Tavares believes that the best way out is to “try to be Chinese.”

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This new approach is most evident in Stellantis’s 21% stake in Chinese automaker Leap Motors. The deal, completed last October, gives the European brand access to Leapmotor technology and exclusive rights to produce electric vehicles outside China. The company’s plant in Tychy, Poland, has already started production, and Tavares said Stellantis could even produce zero-run electric vehicles in North America.

Stellantis is not the only Western conglomerate to partner with Chinese automakers. Volkswagen has partnered with electric vehicle startup Xpeng Motors to develop two electric vehicles, and Audi will work with SAIC Motor to develop new electric vehicles.

Strantis may face obstacles if it wants to build zero-run vehicle products in North America. While doing so would prevent Leapmotor from having to pay any direct tariffs when it starts selling Chinese-made electric vehicles in the United States, the Biden administration recently moved to ban the use of Chinese software and hardware in any vehicles sold locally. Reuters pointed out that this will force Stellantis to use non-Chinese parts to produce Leap car products.

Despite the challenges facing the EV industry as a whole, Stellantis remains steadfast in its plans. By 2030, the company wants to sell only electric vehicles in Europe and expects 50% of its U.S. sales to come from electric vehicles by the same date. It believes cheap models like the Citroën e-C3, as well as models like Zero Sports Cars, will help it achieve those goals.