Stellantis director says material scarcity limits future of electric vehicles

In a wide-ranging discussion about sourcing materials to keep the wheels going, the head of carmaker Stellantis outlined an “unstable” situation that could limit electric vehicle production globally.

Speaking at a panel this week at Detroit Freedom of Movement Forum and reported on the Detroit News, Carlos Tavares questioned the premise that electric cars will become more affordable in the near future “because the raw materials” needed to build them are “scarce and very expensive, and I would add that it is very easy to fly.” a little bit.”

Going into specifics, Tavares also criticized government regulations that currently emphasize electricity over other possible solutions for affordable mobility. He complains about decisions that “pre-impose a single technology instead of having a technology-neutral regulation that creates healthy competition.”

Regarding supply and demand constraints, he said, “We knew we needed lithium. We knew we weren’t producing enough of what we needed. We now have 1.3 billion. cars (ie) internal combustion engines on the planet. We need to replace that with clean mobility. That’s going to take a lot of lithium. Not only might lithium not be enough, but centralization of mining. lithium could create other geopolitical problems.”

Assessing the situation at Stellantis — it was the result of merger between France-based Fiat Chrysler and Peugeot in 2021 — Tavares expressed confidence that Stellantis will be able to achieve the goals set out in its 2030 strategy and the European Union’s ban on the sale of fossil fuel-powered vehicles by 2035 will not affect its orbit. Stellantis plans that 100% of its sales in Europe and 50% in the United States will be fully electric by 2030.

While Tavares is clearly focused on the active role of cars in discussions about affordability and minimizing climate changeOthers on the council adopted a different argument.

Yamina Saheb, senior energy policy analyst at OpenExp, a network that works on solutions to the sustainable development goals, says the world’s reliance on cars has limited access to cars. people’s access to transportation.

“Carlos’ question, ‘Why did cars win this contest?’,” she said. “For one very simple reason: Because it’s unfair competition and you’re a very good lobbyist. So you’ve convinced governments to stop the tram system, the system. public transport and invest in more roads.”