Yesterday (26 July), during Stellantis’s presentation of its financial results for the first half of this year, chief executive Carlos Tavares addressed the challenges created by electrification and the Chinese «invasion».
Citroën ë-C3: Stellantis’s answer to the Chinese «invasion»
One of its main «weapons» will be the new Citroën ë-C3, which we will see at the start of next year - although could it be unveiled this year? It will be Stellantis’s first fully electric model for the European market priced at under €25,000.
To reach this price point, it is set to introduce innovative solutions with a direct effect on controlling production costs.
In Carlos Tavares’s words, it is also “the first step in our response to what is now being called the «Chinese invasion» of the European market. We will fight it with this type of product, and we have more on the way. All of them will be affordable and profitable.”
The new Citroën ë-C3 will be one of the 47 fully electric models Stellantis will have on sale by the end of 2024, more than double the 23 models already available. The developments do not end there, as a new platform is also on the way.
New platform for the C-segment
Although Stellantis currently leads Europe’s electric A-segment (city cars) with the Fiat 500 and the B-segment (superminis) with the Peugeot e-208, it must now take the lead in the far more competitive C-segment (compact family cars).
The new STLA Medium Platform is intended to achieve this. It promises to underpin models with a maximum range of more than 700 km - and batteries with capacities of up to 98 kWh - while delivering combined-cycle consumption below 14 kWh/100 km.
“There is nothing we do at Stellantis in engineering at the moment that does not aim to be best in class.”
- Carlos Tavares, Stellantis CEO
The formula is to develop appealing cars that evoke emotion, while working closely and simultaneously with suppliers to secure the best balance between quality and price. “Because we want to monetise the value we create,” Carlos Tavares adds.
Stellantis’s first-half figures
The first half of 2023 went extremely well for Stellantis, which reported record figures compared with those posted in the equivalent period last year. Among the most notable was €98.4 billion in net revenue, representing growth of 12% against 2022.
Adjusted operating profit reached €14.1 billion. Net profit, meanwhile, rose to €10.9 billion, an increase of 37% compared with the first half of 2022.
Industrial free cash flows rise 63%
The sharpest increase, however, concerned industrial free cash flows, which were up 63% on 2022. Put another way - or in figures - the €8.7 million recorded in the first half of this year was €3.3 billion above the 2022 figure.
As Carlos Tavares stated, the Dare Forward 2030 strategic plan is operating at full pace. Evidence of this lies in the record figures Stellantis has just reported, which will continue to increase through to the end of the year.
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