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The owner of Vauxhall, Citroen and Peugeot has warned that it could halt production in the UK unless the government does more to stimulate demand for electric vehicles (EVs).
Stellantis boss Maria Grazia Davino said the government’s proposal to ban petrol and diesel cars risked hurting its business in the UK.
He said a resolution on whether to close or close Stellantis plants in Luton and Ellesmere Port, near Liverpool, could come “in less than a year”.
“Stellantis UK is coming to a halt, but Stellantis production in the UK could just stop,” he told reporters at an industry convention on Tuesday.
Stellantis owns several other well-known car brands, including Fiat, Jeep, Alfa Romeo, Chrysler, Dodge, Maserati, and Opel.
The UK government had first set a target of banning the sale of new petrol and diesel cars until 2030, but this plan was delayed for five years to give consumers more time to transition to electric vehicles.
In response to the decision, the Prime Minister said that the “initial cost” of electric cars was still too high.
Stellantis manufactures electric vans at its Ellesmere Port plant and in the past announced that it will begin production of electric vans at its Luton plant in 2025.
Speaking to reporters, Ms Davino said: “We have made primary investments in Ellesmere Port and Luton, and there will be more to come.
“But if this market becomes hostile toward us, we will enter and produce elsewhere. “
His comments speak of a long-running struggle between automakers and the government over the promotion of electric vehicles, the demand for which has slowed recently.
Competition from reasonable Chinese electric cars has made automakers more involved in ceding too many profits to a sluggish market.
“This means that discounts will have to be greater to boost the market that does not exist. And that has a number of implications for the business case,” Davino said.
Both the Conservative and Labour parties have policies to reduce emissions and air quality.
Meanwhile, the EU has said Chinese electric cars are being unfairly subsidized by its government and has threatened to impose high punitive taxes on Chinese imports.
China, EU to discuss electric car tariffs
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