(AOF) – In terms of electric vehicles, “the technology is not complete”, “nothing is optimized”, affirms the boss of Stellantis, Carlos Tavares, in an interview granted to “Figaro”, estimating that “the he industry must move from a technology that has been optimized and honed for more than a century to a technology that is still in its infancy”. However, the Chinese manufacturers “have taken the lead” and the battle with them “will be very tough, and first in Europe”, because Europe “has set its regulations on what is precisely the strong point of the manufacturers Chinese”.
“We ask basketball champions to take up pole vaulting” and “it doesn’t happen overnight”, specifies the boss of Stellantis. “We have to change our technologies and our organizations, adapt our industrial devices in a very short time and in Western societies which do not like change very much” so “it will be Darwinian”. Echoing the comments he made in January 2023 in the German magazine “Automobilwoche” on the sidelines of CES 2023 in Las Vegas, Carlos Tavares wonders “how many will be able to survive”.
“It is on the selling price that the success of this transition will be made” “but relocation increases costs” and “therefore takes us further from the objective” he adds. According to him, it is necessary to “take advantage of low-cost cost structures”, which “does not necessarily mean building in China” because “there may be better places in the world, for some closer to Europe, and even in Europe “. We must also “produce cars in our countries with high added value and greater technological content”.
“The Stellantis group will offer electric cars for less than 25,000 euros, or even 20,000 euros with the electric Citroën C3 manufactured in Slovakia”, announces Carlos Tavares. “We must add up the strengths of European countries rather than adding division and protectionism within the Union”, he concludes.
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Key points
– Sixth largest automotive group in the world – 3rd in the United States with 11% market share and 2nd in Europe with 18%, born in January 2021 from the Peugeot-Fiat Chrysler Group merger;
– Turnover of €179.6 billion achieved under 14 brands – Alfa Romeo, Chrysler Citroën, DS, Jeep, Opel, Peugeot, etc. -, mainly in North and South America and in Europe;
– Business model adapting the group to the new uses of motorists and to the electrification of vehicles (world positions in electric vehicles) via digital transformation, the internal culture of performance (high industrial competitiveness) and social responsibility;
– Capital with 4 main shareholders: the holding company of the Agnelli Exor family for 14.4%, the Peugeot family for 7.2%, the Chinese Dongfeng for 5.6% and BPI France for 5.66%, John Elkann chairing the board of directors of 11 members and Carlos Tavares being managing director;
– Sound financial position: €61.3 billion in available industrial liquidity and €61.3 billion in equity, against a debt of €34 billion.
Challenges
“Dare forward 2030” strategic plan:
– maintenance of a balance point at less than 50% of invoicing and operating margins of more than 2 digits,
– doubling of revenues including a quadrupling in the high end, ¼ achieved outside Europe and North America (€20 billion in China) and 1/3 from online sales,
– software strategy of 20 billion in turnover and approximately 40% gross margin;
– Innovation strategy:
– increase in battery capacity to 400 GWh,
– combination of fuel cells/hydrogen for large utilities,
– new venture capital fund of €300 million for advanced technologies,
– collaborative ecosystem, with more than 160 co-financed projects and more than 1,000 partners – autonomous driving, connectivity, electrification and state-of-the-art propulsion,
– academies in digital & data and electricity and 9 digital hubs;
– Environmental strategy of carbon neutrality in 2038 via a 50% reduction in 2030 vs 2021:
– 100% electric vehicles in Europe and 50% in the United States;
– new circular economy division – purchase of reconditioner Stimcar, launch of regional circular hubs from 2023, SUSTAINera label – aiming for €2 billion in revenue by 2030,
– investment in the “sustainable” Los Azules copper mine in Argentina,
– Integration of the Share now specialist -5 million customers worldwide;
– Securing the battery ecosystem by 5 giga-companies in Europe and North America and by vertical integration of raw materials;
Challenges
– Reduction of semiconductor shortages by the end of 2023;
– Spin-off from the strategic partnership with Archer in the production of electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft;
– Advances in financing activities in the United States and Europe, with high profitability;
– After a 29% increase in revenues in the 3rd quarter, confirmation of the 2022 objective of a double-digit operating margin and positive free cash flow.
– 2022 dividend of €1.34 and buyback of shares for €1.5 billion.
A paradoxical performance
Data from EY highlights that the performance of the world’s top 16 manufacturers was particularly strong in 2021. While the average margin has fallen for three years in a row, from 6.3% in 2017 to just 3.5% in 2020 , this margin stood at 8.5% in 2021. This level is a record for ten years. However, the context was particularly hectic for manufacturers, faced with unprecedented shortages of components. Global sales fell 14% in 2020, the year of the health crisis, to rebound by only 5% in 2021. However, last year, players were able to reap the benefits of their efforts on their fixed cost structure. .