Stellantis very interested in getting closer to India, in order to produce low-cost electric cars. On Wednesday, November 25, the general manager of the group, Carlos Tavares, made several statements during a round table with the press.

Partnering with India to create affordable electric cars

“So far, Europe cannot produce affordable electric cars. So a big opportunity for India would be to be able to sell compact electric vehicles at an affordable price while maintaining profitability,” he said. If the country can indeed meet the auto group’s quality and cost targets by the end of 2023, the group will be able to export electric vehicles to other markets.

The group, which owns approximately fifteen brands, is investing heavily in the power industry. But at the moment, the production of these new cars is expensive and still financially unprofitable. However, Carlos Tavares points out that nothing has been written down yet, even if the discussion is moving forward.

China is a major player in electricity

If manufacturers want to lower prices, it is important to choose a country with very affordable labor costs, even more so for electric models. In particular, this applies to Dacia, which manufactures the Spring in China, for example in Xi’an in the Hubei province.

“There is growing tension between China and the Western world. This will affect trade. The power that can best take advantage of this opportunity is obviously India,” said Carlos Tavares.

India, where Stellantis distributes its Jeep and Citroën brands, accounts for only a fraction of the automaker’s global sales, but the leader said the group is not chasing volume, but rather aims to grow there slowly and steadily.

Stellantis plans to launch its first electric car in the country, a version of the Citroën C3, early next year.