The CEO of the maker of Jeep SUVs, Ram pickup trucks and other vehicles says he's not sure there will be enough raw materials to replace the existing fleet of fossil fuel-powered vehicles with all-electric vehicles.
The comments from Stellantis NV's Carlos Tavares came Wednesday during the Freedom of Mobility Forum, a platform the automaker created alongside its decision to leave the European Automobile Manufacturers Association and to change its approach to public affairs and lobbying. The hope is that the debate from diverse views around the world can help to inform and influence public opinion to which lawmakers ultimately are subject. And based on the engagement of the inaugural event, stakeholders involved will determine the best ways to disseminate the facts, challenges and solutions discussed.
The wide-ranging, two-hour conversation among six panelists was moderated by Celia Edwards, a partner at consulting firm Wavestone. It addressed the auto industry, public transportation, bikes and municipal planning and sought to answer the question: In a decarbonized world, will freedom of mobility be affordable to a happy few only? It's a frequent concern expressed by Tavares, who has emphasized the need for the auto industry to absorb the 40% higher costs to build an electric vehicle than an internal combustion engine vehicle instead of passing those expenses onto car buyers.
"The affordability is not there, because the raw materials are scarce and very expensive, and I would add very volatile," Tavares said. "We know that we need lithium. We know that we are not producing as much as we need. We have right now 1.3 billion cars (that are) internal combustion engine powered on the planet. We need to replace that with clean mobility. That will need a lot of lithium. Not only the lithium may not be enough, but the concentration of the mining of lithium may create other geopolitical issues."
Those issues include governments instituting requirements to source materials domestically or with certain trade partners, which increases their costs, as well, he said.
Tavares emphasized the research in this area remains early. Automakers are looking at materials to make vehicles lighter, exploring different battery chemistries that use less scarce resources and calling for a denser EV charging infrastructure that would reduce range anxiety and make smaller vehicles more practical.
Still, Tavares expressed confidence that Stellantis will be able to meet its goals set in its 2030 strategy and that holdups in the European Union to ban the sale of fossil fuel-powered vehicles by 2035 won't affect its trajectory. Stellantis plans for 100% of its sales in Europe and 50% in the United States to be all-electric by the end of the decade.
He, however, did lament the lack of flexibility many regulations offer by emphasizing EVs: "Our societies are losing a lot of great potential by not having a technology neutral regulations. This is a big, big loss of creativity of scientific power that we are deciding upfront by imposing one single technology instead of having a technology-neutral regulation that would create healthy competition."
Examples include synthetic fuels as well as biogas, which could also help to address disposal of solid and agriculture waste and power transportation like minibuses, said Måns Nilsson, executive director of Stockholm Environment Institute.
"With the kind of regulatory approach that the E.U. is taking, they are sort of removing the possibilities to use biogas," he said. "They cannot separate properly between fossil carbon emissions and carbon emissions that are part of a natural cycle. So, I am afraid that policymakers are providing too narrow frames and excluding options for transport that might very well have enormous synergies for societies and both in terms of also affordability and mitigating climate change."
Other panelists suggested societies need to de-emphasize automobiles altogether.
"For poor communities," said Davesh Shah, CEO of Grassroot Trading Network for Women, "when we are talking about this alternative energy sources. It is very important that we don't focus on things like cars, because that is one driver and three empty seats. We rather should focus on electric bicycles, or electric public transports, which can have a better bang for the buck."
The world's dependency on autos limits people's access to mobility, said Yamina Saheb, senior energy policy analyst at OpenExp, a network working on solutions for sustainable development goals.
"The question from Carlos, 'Why did the automobile win this competition?' " she said. "For a very simple reason: Because it's an unfair competition, and you are very good lobbyist. So, you managed to convince governments to stop the tram systems, the public transport system, and to invest in more roads.
"And then, there is an alliance between the car industry and the infrastructure industry, because you make profit out of more cars and more cars means more roads, and less of public transport. And given that everything has been privatized, everything became privatized, and our governments have been brainwashed, and even ourselves as citizens, we are brainwashed, and we are not free."
Alternatives do look different depending on urban and rural communities, Saheb added. But even carpooling offers a step forward in more remote parts of the world.
She acknowledged this represents an enormous paradigm shift in thinking, and Tavares noted, "Mobility is about access to health, education and jobs. ... I don't think that humanity is ready to give up on individual mobility."
Thoughts around that, however, may be shifting at least for some, suggested Temilade Salami, executive director of EcoChampions, a network of young environmentalists and activists in Africa.
"I love to feel safe in public transport, because I can use my phone, I can work, I can do other things, while someone is just at the steering of the wheel. And it's very important to understand that the times and methods have shifted," she said. "As a young person, I'm not really all about getting my own personal car. I really just want to move from point A to point B in a sustainable way and in a way that doesn't break the bank."
What would make that shift easier is greater walkability and people living closer to the places they need to access, said Benjamin Welle, director of integrated transport and innovation at the World Resources Institute's Ross Center for Sustainable Cities. A movement toward 15-minute cities focuses on reducing zoning for single-family homes to allow more nearby amenities.
"In the United States, most trips are under five miles and a plurality are even under three miles," Welle said. "There is an ability to shift many existing trips to walking and cycling."
