October 17, 2024 – Following months of dialogue with the UK government regarding the mandatory sales of zero-emission vehicles, Stellantis NV CEO Carlos Tavares has revealed that the company is on the cusp of making a critical decision about its future in Britain.
The automaker, which owns the British brand Vauxhall, had previously cautioned in June that it would evaluate shifting production elsewhere due to the perceived unsustainability of the mandate. In an interview with Bloomberg Television on Monday, Tavares expressed his view that the threshold set by the UK government for battery-electric vehicle sales is approximately twice the level of “natural” demand.
Tavares emphasized that if European governments expect Stellantis to sell a higher proportion of electric vehicles than what is naturally demanded, “they need to help stimulate demand.” He noted that the company has been engaged in discussions with the UK government on this matter for several months.
“We are now at a point where we must make a decision, and this will happen in the next few weeks,” Tavares stated.
The UK has implemented a mandatory order this year, requiring at least 22% of new car sales from each manufacturer to be zero-emission vehicles, with the proportion escalating to 80% by 2030. For vans, 70% of new sales must be electric by the end of the decade.
Failure to meet these targets could result in fines up to £15,000 per vehicle for automakers. However, they can avoid these penalties through a credit trading scheme and compensate for any shortfalls in future years.
Stellantis operates a plant in Ellesmere Port, Cheshire, England, where it produces small electric vans for its Vauxhall, Citroën, Peugeot, Opel, and Fiat brands. Last year, the company invested £100 million to transform the facility into a purely electric vehicle plant. Additionally, it manufactures medium-sized vans in Luton, near London.
