Carlos Tavares, president of Stellantis, does not rule out the closure of factories within his group as Chinese manufacturers increase announcements of opening production sites in Europe, he told the newspaper on Sunday The Echoes.
“Closing the borders to Chinese products is a trap (…) They will circumvent the barriers by investing in factories in Europe. Factories that will be partly financed with state subsidies, in low-cost countries,” explained the CEO of Stellantis.
Chinese electric vehicles sold in Europe will face an import tax of up to 45% from the end of October.
Don’t “rule anything out”
Some manufacturers such as BYD have already announced that they will open sites in Europe to avoid these surcharges. In this context, are Stellantis factories under threat? “Nothing should be ruled out,” responded Carlos Tavares. “If the Chinese manage to gain a 10% market share in Europe at the end of their offensive, this means they will produce 1.5 million cars. There are seven assembly plants. European producers will therefore have to close them or transfer them to the Chinese.”
Volkswagen “fired first” by mentioning plant closures in Germany. “For our part, there is no reason to accept a deterioration in our performance if the Chinese advance in Europe, even if we keep our break-even point (the number of cars needed to make fixed costs profitable) below the threshold of 50% activity. ”, he underlined.
Faced with difficulties in North America and Europe, the head of Stellantis has overhauled its management team, notably replacing its chief financial officer. The automotive group also confirmed the retirement of Carlos Tavares, 66, at the end of his mandate in January 2026.
Margins above 10%
“The unanimous support of the board of directors and its president John Elkann allows everyone to regain concentration to work peacefully until the end of my contract at the beginning of 2026”, indicated the head of the group of fifteen brands (Fiat, Peugeot , Chrysler, etc.).
Stellantis had previously significantly revised down its margin targets for the year 2024, while it had posted margins above 10% since the group’s creation in 2021. “If the context makes reaching this target completely stupid, we won’t do it” . hold onto it at all costs. We are not crazy,” Carlos Tavares said.
The leader continues to oppose the postponement of the strengthening of European standards for gas emissions that warm the planet and regrets that Stellantis is “the fuse of disputes between the European Union and some of its members, such as Italy, who want reverse the decisions made. “Today, support or opposition to electric vehicles constitutes a political division,” he told Les Échos.
Then questioned by the LCI television channel, which asked him “Does France need migrants to run your factories?” », replied Carlos Tavares “this problem begins with the birth rate”. But “if France wants to continue increasing its wealth to serve the lifestyle of its population, let it do so (In) needs,” he said, which was echoed by the journalist.
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