Protecting ICE Profits to Fund EV Shift
Stellantis is preparing to electrify its product range, though it cautions that will come at a high price. One likely result might be that electric vehicles are priced out of the budget of the middle income group.
Whilst the car manufacturer envisages the electric Ram 1500 REV pickup truck as its prospective model, they declare that getting it ready for market release by the latter part of 2024 will be a pricey undertaking.
At the New York International Auto Show, company executives highlighted the importance of increasing profitability and reducing expenses to finance the transition to electric vehicles. In an interview with Automotive News, Ram CEO Mike Koval Jr. commented that the 1500 REV is “what we’re here to celebrate and talk about, but it’s expensive.” He went on to emphasize that the firm must focus on improving its bottom line in order to make the switch to EVs a reality.
Maintaining those gains has proven difficult in light of the contemporary situation, consisting of a pandemic, microchip insufficiency, rising prices and legislative alterations. To illustrate, Stellantis indicated that charges tied to constructing and fabricating EVs was an underlying factor in their decision to cease production of the Jeep Cherokee establishment in Illinois by the end of February.
At a recently held media symposium, CEO Carlos Tavares of Stellantis emphatically commented about the company facing rising operational costs. He posed the question as to how should the organization grapple with these financial pressures.
By 2030, Stellantis seeks to offer an abundance of electric vehicles across its Ram, Jeep, Dodge and Chrysler brands in the United States. In 2021, an electrical version of the previously mentioned ProMaster van is planned to be released by Ram, followed by the 1500 REV the year after. Moreover, the truck brand has contemplated debuting a midsize electric pickup, which was shown to dealers in March in concept format.
Jeep is set to launch the finalized versions of its Recon and Wagoneer S electric Sports Utility Vehicles in 2024; the firm already has an electrically powered offering up for grabs in Europe called the Avenger, however, there has been no word on if this vehicle will be available stateside.
By 2024, Dodge will kick off the EV revolution with an all-electric muscle auto inspired by the Charger SRT Daytona Concept let loose the previous year. Also, in 2025, Chrysler will set foot into the electric engines sector with a motorcar based on the Airflow Concept.
Source: Automotive News
