to Get All-Electric Future

Alfa Romeo is latest Stellantis brand to get all-electric future

Sporty marque joins Fiat, Opel, Lancia, DS in switch to ba ery-only cars

Five of Stellan s’ 12 core brands will become all-electric in the near future -- Alfa Romeo, Fiat, DS, Lancia and Opel -- as the group formed from the merger of Fiat Chrysler and PSA Group steps up its electrifi ca on eff orts. Alfa Romeo will only sell full-electric vehicles in Europe, North America and China star ng in 2027, according to Stellan s’ fi rst-half results presenta on published last Wednesday (See chart below). Stellan s’ upscale niche brands, DS Automobiles and Lancia, will gradually shi to becoming electriconly. DS will launch only full-electric cars star ng in 2024 while also con nuing to sell vehicles with internal combus on engineers. Lancia will launch only full-electric cars star ng in 2026.

The three brands join Opel and Fiat, which have already announced plans to become electric-only. Opel said in June that it will be an all-electric brand in Europe by 2028. Also in June, Fiat CEO Olivier Francois said the brand’s product lineup will become electric-only between 2025 and 2030. Automakers are jostling to posi on themselves at the forefront of the industry’s shi to electric ahead of the European Union’s plan to eff ec vely ban internal combus on engines by 2035 by requiring all new cars sold from then to produce zero emissions.

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Continued from Page 34 Volkswagen Group brands that have commi ed to an EV-only future include Bentley (2030) and Audi (2033). Cupra, the sub-brand spun off from Seat, will be all-electric, VW Group CEO Herbert Diess said this year, without giving a date. The fl agship VW brand has said it will phase out internal combus on engines from 2033 to 2035. Outside of Stellan s and VW Group, Jaguar will become an all-electric brand star ng in 2025, Volvo has said it expects to be all-electric by 2030, and Ford has said the same about its European lineup. ‘Racing to deliver’ During Stellan s’ fi rst-half results presenta on CEO Carlos Tavares said the group is on “a strong electrifi ca on journey.” “Over the next 24 months you can expect no less than 11 pure EV launches. They will add to the exis ng 11 BEVs [ba ery-electric vehicles] on sale,” Tavares said. “We are now racing to deliver what I promised, which is 100 percent electrifi ca on by 2025,” meaning every new Stellan s model will have either a plug-in hybrid or full-electric op on by then. Stellan s’ new full-electric models include three from Citroen; two each from Peugeot, Masera and Fiat’s vans unit; and one each from Jeep and Opel/Vauxhall. There will also be 10 plug-in hybrid launches: three from Peugeot, two from Opel/Vauxhall, and one each from Alfa Romeo, Citroen, DS, Dodge and Jeep. Before year-end, Tavares and other top Stellan s execu ves will roll out the group’s strategic plan, which is expected to give more clarity about several brands that had been starved of investment under FCA, including Fiat, Lancia and Alfa Romeo in Europe, and Dodge and Chrysler in the U.S. Lancia, Alfa Romeo and DS make up Stellan s’ premium cluster, and they are already working together on future models and industrial synergies. DS off ers the DS 3 Crossback E-Tense as its only full-electric vehicle. It already sells nearly 40 percent of vehicles as either full-electric cars or plug-in hybrids, the highest percentage in the group. Lancia’s next models will include a small car with a ba ery-powered op on, and an electric-only compact crossover, company sources have said. Source: www.autonews.com - Peter Sigal