Carlos Tavares says EU 2035 combustion engine decision changes nothing for Stellantis

Brussels has been through a turbulent period. After weeks of debate, the European Union and Germany recently reached an agreement allowing the combustion engine to remain in use beyond 2035, provided it runs on carbon-neutral synthetic fuels.

Asked at the Freedom of Mobility Forum what this could mean for the industry, Carlos Tavares, Stellantis chief executive, was unequivocal: it has “changed nothing” in Stellantis’s electrification strategy.

“In Stellantis’s case, we will be fully ready in time to deliver electrified mobility. That is clear,” he said, before criticising policymakers: “The decision on this issue should have been made earlier, perhaps in 2014 or 2015”.

Under the European Union’s latest draft, internal combustion engines can remain ‘alive’ after 2035, as long as they use carbon-neutral synthetic fuels.

Stellantis electrification and synthetic fuels after 2035

“I think synthetic fuels will be another technology that will be developed. But, at the end of the day, what we need is safe, clean and affordable mobility. The future will tell us whether we have found the answer to affordability or not. The solution for clean mobility exists if the energy is renewable. But affordability has yet to be proven, largely because of the shortage of raw materials,” Carlos Tavares warned during a discussion lasting around two hours and featuring a six-member panel.

The lithium problem

“We know we need lithium. There are currently 1.3 billion cars on the planet with an internal combustion engine. We have to replace that with clean mobility. And that will require a great deal of lithium,” Tavares said, before issuing a warning: “Not only may there not be enough lithium, but the concentration of lithium mining could create other geopolitical problems”.

Among the concerns raised by Carlos Tavares is the fact that certain governments are introducing requirements to source raw materials domestically, or are even restricting access for some trading partners. According to the Portuguese executive leading Stellantis, this “increases the costs” of electric cars.

Is a single solution no solution at all?

Tavares was also critical of policymakers putting all their chips on a single solution:

Our societies are losing a great deal of potential because they do not have technologically neutral regulations. It is a major loss of creativity from scientific power to decide in advance to impose a single technology, rather than adopting technologically neutral rules that would help create healthy competition.

Carlos Tavares, Stellantis chief executive

Ultimately, and regardless of this shift in the EU’s position, Carlos Tavares remained firm in acknowledging that it will change nothing.

“Do I think it will change anything? No. We will be ready for electrification before the 2035 ban, but we must recognise that this is a profound transformation of the industry”.