Stellantis warns of factory closures as e-van sales stall in Europe
US-European automaker Stellantis may close factories in the coming months because sales of electric light commercial vehicles are not finding enough clients, its European chief warned Wednesday.
Jean-Philippe Imparato also said EU targets for increasing the bloc's fleet of e-van vehicles would be impossible to reach, putting the company at risk of billions of euros in fines.
'We're just a few months' away from disaster,' Imparato said at the Stellantis factory in Hordain, northern France, where around 2 600 employees produce commercial vans for the group's Citroen, Peugeot, Fiat and Opel brands.
Stellantis faces hefty fines
The company has said it faces fines of 2.6 billion euros ($3.1 billion) over the three years to end-2027 if e-vans remain at the current level of nine percent of the European market.
It says EU targets call for e-vans to represent 13 percent of the overall fleet in 2025 before rising to 24 percent in 2027.
'Everybody tells me, 'Don't worry, you won't have to pay them',' Imparato said.
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'But for now all I have are statements. There's no sense of urgency,' he said.
'If I have to pay this penalty, I shut down factories, it's inevitable,' he said, because the targets mean Stellantis would have to cut back on production of diesel vans.
Big producer in Europe
The company also has van factories in Britain, Germany, Italy, Poland and Spain.
Stellantis is one of Europe's biggest producers of light commercial vehicles, used for transport of both goods and people.
Lag of e-vehicle sales in Europe
European automakers are bristling as e-vehicle sales lag despite Brussels' target that they make up 100 percent of new sales by 2035.
The automotive sector is the jewel in Europe's industrial crown, employing around 13 million people and contributing around seven percent to the bloc's GDP.
In May, EU countries gave final approval to a reprieve for European carmakers over new emission targets, as they seek to balance climate goals with support for the struggling industry.
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