Stellantis has presented its electric car strategy for its many car brands. In 2028, Opel is a pure electric car manufacturer.
When Fiat Chrysler and the PSA group merged to form Stellantis, they took 14 car brands under the same umbrella. During this decade, they plan for 70 percent of the cars they sell in Europe to be so-called low-emission cars.
In North America, ambitions are lower: 40 percent of sales by 2030.
It is worth noting that low-emission cars are not necessarily the same as electric cars, although electric cars are a key part of the strategy. But Stellantis in reality says nothing about how many electric cars they envisage selling.
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They want to have a total fleet emission that is 30 percent lower than the industry average and have 260 gigawatt hours of production capacity for batteries by 2030.
By 2025, they will invest 30 billion euros in electrification and software development.
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Electric car platforms and battery production are key elements. They are developing four new, flexible platforms to be used across all car brands and vehicle segments. There is great variation here, as Stellantis includes widely different car brands for different markets.
Four platforms form the basis for Stellantis’ electric car investment.Facsimile: Stellantis
The platforms are called STLA Small, Medium, Large and Frame. These are flexible platforms made for different vehicle types. The smallest platform can provide cars with a range of up to 500 kilometers, Medium up to 700 kilometers and the rest up to 800 kilometers.
It should be possible to build two million cars on each of the platforms annually, ie a total of eight million.
The cars can be built with four-wheel drive, front-wheel drive or rear-wheel drive, and Stellantis develops three engine units that include the engine, reduction gear and inverter.
Stellantis will mainly use two battery chemistries: one for high-performance cars and an alternative that is free of cobalt and nickel. The strategy is reminiscent of Renault, which uses nickel-manganese-cobalt cathode (NMC) in high-performance cars and lithium-iron-phosphate (LFP) in cars where performance is not as weighted. The advantage of LFP is a relatively low price, and the disadvantage is higher weight and lower energy density.
The manufacturer plans to have these batteries ready by 2024. Furthermore, they envisage introducing solid state batteries in 2026.
Aims at 260 gigawatt hours
Battery plans require production capacity. The goal is to ensure access to 130 gigawatt hours by 2025 and 260 gigawatt hours by 2030. They aim for suppliers to be able to deliver 170 gigawatt hours from factories in Europe and 90 gigawatt hours in the USA by 2030.
With an estimated average battery capacity of 60 kilowatt hours, this means that Stellantis envisages being able to produce 2.1 million electric cars a year in 2025 and 4.3 million a year in 2030. How much of this do they envisage using in hybrid cars, is unclear.
Such production will require access to raw materials. Stellantis has entered into a letter of intent with suppliers in Europe and the United States for the purchase of lithium from geothermal sources. In addition, they are working to put in place a recycling system that makes it possible to reuse the raw materials when the batteries are no longer in use.
The Opel Manta GSe ElektroMOD will not be put into production, but will be the inspiration for a new electric Manta. Photo: Opel Automobile GmbH
Opel becomes electric car brand
The new strategy will affect Stellantis’ many different car brands in different ways. On that occasion, they have created a set of slogans for their various car brands:
Chrysler – “Clean Technology for a New Generation of Families”
Citroën – “Citroën Electric: Well-Being for All!”
Dodge – “Tear Up the Streets… Not the Planet”
DS Automobiles – “The Art of Travel, Magnified”
Fiat – “It’s Only Green When It’s Green for All”
Jeep – “Zero Emission Freedom”
Lancia – “The Most Elegant Way to Protect the Planet”
Maserati – “The Best in Performance Luxury, Electrified”
Opel/Vauxhall – “Green is the New Cool”
Peugeot – “Turning Sustainable Mobility into Quality Time”
Ram – “Built to Serve a Sustainable Planet”
Commercial Vehicles – “The Global Leader in e-Commercial Vehicles”
Opel Manta-e Concept.Illustration: Opel Automobile GmbH
More specifically, it is certain that Opel will end up with internal combustion engines. From 2028, only electric cars will be sold in Europe. At the same time, it became clear that Opel is reviving the old Manta model.
This is not a production version of Manta GSe ElektroMOD, which Opel showed off earlier this year, but a car that draws inspiration from this.
The other brands are also launching electric cars. Jeep, Ram and Dodge will launch electric cars in 2024-2025. Several of the European brands in the group, such as Opel, Peugeot, Citroën and Fiat, already have electric cars on the market.
In addition, Alfa Romeo will come with electric cars sometime after 2024 – and Maserati in 2023.
