Stellantis’ all-new BEV model will fight the “Chinese invasion” of the European market, its CEO has said.
In the automaker’s first half results conference call, Carlos Tavares called the Citroën e-C3 the first “affordable, fresh and trendy” offering to middle-class drivers. It is in the final stages of industrialisation and will launch in Europe in early 2024, Tavares said.
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The e-C3, which is currently tipped to be sold for under €25k, is “the first step of our answer to what is now called the Chinese invasion in the European market – we will fight with this kind of product, and we have more coming,” he said.
While promising to be affordable, Tavares added the e-C3 would be “profitable for Stellantis and will take a significant position in the market for the future.” It is reported it will be unveiled in mid-October of this year.
When asked about Chinese competition during the call’s Q&A segment, Tavares said: “We need to come up with a sourcing proposal that allows us to sell those cars [e-C3].”
He said there were two ways to achieve this: to find breakthroughs in design to cost or use the same cost structure as Chinese competitors. “I’m here making the assumption there are no specific subsidies for Chinese car makers to be more competitive abroad than they are in their domestic market.”
He added that to make the Citroën e-C3 profitable, “you have to have a very competitive cost structure, which means a significant LCC-based cost structure.
“We believe we now have the right formula…We are blessed with the fact that we are ready for when the Chinese come,” he said.
Stellantis reported that net revenues of €98.4 billion, up 12% compared to H1 2022, which is attributed to higher shipments. Its net profit was €10.9 billion, up 37% compared to H1 2022.
In addition to its growth in revenues, it also repurchased €0.7 billion in shares in the first half of 2023, and says it expects to complete the announced €1.5 billion share buyback program before the end of 2023.
