TURIN – Stellantis (NYSE: STLA) has already taken measures and is working hard to avoid the risk of plant closures facing rival Volkswagen, the carmaker’s CEO Carlos Tavares said on Tuesday.
“We have done many unpopular things over the last few years to avoid as much as possible” a situation similar to Volkswagen, Tavares said.
“We have been criticized for that, for taking decisions which were … not always well understood,” Tavares said, adding the key was to sell electric vehicles at the same prices as traditional petrol models.
Earlier this month Europe’s largest automaker Volkswagen announced it was considering for the first time in its history to close factories in home country Germany.
Volkswagen’s announcement has triggered speculation that more European automakers could assess similar moves to respond to low factory utilization rates in the region, increasing price pressures from Asian rivals, and a tougher economic environment.
“We are working very very hard to avoid that situation and the future will say if we are going to be able to avoid any trouble or not, too soon to say today,” Tavares told reporters after inaugurating a global hub for the group’s commercial vehicle unit Pro One, in Turin, Italy.
Between 2021 – when it was formed through the merger of Fiat Chrysler and Peugeot maker PSA – and 2023, Stellantis (NYSE: STLA) cut its workforce by almost 20,000 in Europe, mostly through voluntary redundancy.
(Source: Reuters)
Jennifer Tacker is a staff writer at ABBO News. She holds a B.A. from the University of Waterloo and a B.Ed from Western University. Jennifer has been active in the stock market and crypto sector for a decade. She specializes in technical analysis and trading strategies.
