Stellantis Europe Chief Concerned at ‘Misalignment’ in EU Regulation

The size and shape of any future investments in Europe by carmaker Stellantis will hinge on decisions on auto industry regulation, the carmaker’s head of Europe said on Friday, expressing concern at what had been announced so far.

The EU Commission proposed last month a plan to drop a ban on new combustion-engine cars from 2035 after pressure from the region’s auto sector, marking the bloc’s biggest retreat from its green policies in recent years.

Stellantis deemed the new package insufficient and CEO Antonio Filosa warned that it put at risk manufacturers’ investments in the region.

“The decisions of the European Union will have a big impact on visibility, on what are the dominant technologies that are needed,” Stellantis Europe head Emanuele Cappellano said on Friday at the Brussels car show, in his first press conference since taking the job in October.

Cappellano said he was concerned about a “misalignment” between EU’s regulation, automakers’ needs and customer demand.

“We need to be very, very honest on this. So far, what has been announced failed completely in this extent,” he said on Friday, adding that both the industry and customers are seeking short-term solutions.

“The problem is not 10 years from now. It is today and customers that need some different stuff,” he said, adding the European market had lost three million vehicles since the COVID-19 pandemic and it was the only region in the world that hasn’t yet come back to pre-pandemic levels.

He said EU should protect the European auto industry and help cover some existing gaps with Chinese competitors in areas such as batteries and semiconductors.

Asked about the future of Stellantis sprawling portfolio of 14 brands – that many say is too complicated to manage and causing overlap among several models – Cappellano deferred to the group’s new business plan, which CEO Filosa is due to present in the second quarter.

“We are going to work on a strategic plan … but my first priority is to guarantee that (Stellantis) brand CEOs have the possibility to reinforce their brand attributes,” he said.

(Reporting by Piovaccari; Editing by Valentina Za, Aidan Lewis)