The last time we checked, Stellantis had at least 14 car brands under its wings and even more subsidiaries scattered throughout the globe. But even with so much potential power, it–like many other automakers–has struggled to keep up with the influx of Chinese-made electric cars making their way into Europe.
According to Reuters, CEO Carlos Tavares said that the company is “ready to fight” the brutal challenge of the Chinese EV offensive.
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Local lithium and cheap workforce
With a new EV assembly line in Serbia and a local supply of lithium, the vital component needed for high-voltage batteries, Stellantis reckons it has what it takes to fight the influx of Chinese-made electric cars making their way into Europe—that, and the fact that it is also assembling a Chinese-made EV in Poland.
"We are going to be challenged and I would say brutally challenged by the Chinese offensive on the European market," Tavares said on Monday during the opening of a new EV production line in Serbia which will assemble the new Fiat Grande Panda sub-compact crossover. "At Stellantis, we are ready for the fight," he added.
The former Yugo plant, which used to build the Fiat 500L minivan, is a key part of Stellantis’ fight with the influx of Chinese-made EVs, which are sometimes cheaper than European-made ones. Production costs are lower at the Serbian Kragujevac factory than in Poland, France and Italy. This, coupled with the country’s recent reinstatement of a mining license to develop Europe’s biggest lithium mine, will help keep the selling price down–as low as $28,000 in the case of the Fiat Grande Panda.
"We are going to demonstrate to them that ... we are hard-working, we are going to demonstrate to them that we have the right technology, we are going to demonstrate to them that we are a very fierce competitor," Carlos Tavares said.
Gallery: Fiat Grande Panda
That “fierce competitor” attribute can also be interpreted with the help of the old saying, “If you can’t beat them, join them.” That’s because earlier this year, Stellantis, through its joint venture with Leapmotor, started assembling a Chinese-made EV at its factory in Tychy, Poland. The Leapmotor T03 is a city car that costs around $21,000 to $24,000 and comes with a 41.3-kilowatt-hour battery and single electric motor that makes either 94 horsepower (70 kilowatts) or 107 hp (80 kW), depending on the trim. The WLTP-rated range is 174 miles on a full charge.
By comparison, the Fiat Grande Panda, based on the same platform as the Citroen e-C3, features a 113 hp front motor paired with a 44 kWh battery for a claimed range of 195 miles, presumably on the WLTP cycle. A mild-hybrid model will also be available, powered by a 1.2-liter gasoline engine making around 100 hp.
