(MT Newswires) -- Carlos Tavares, CEO of Stellantis, acknowledges that 2024 will be a turbulent year for the automotive industry, citing economic and geopolitical factors and growing competition from China. He points out that Stellantis is used to dealing with turbulent situations and sees these periods as opportunities to demonstrate a competitive advantage.
 
Tavares discusses rising costs, particularly due to wage negotiations in the US, and talks about the importance of optimisation to offset the additional costs of electric vehicles (EVs), which are estimated to be between 30 and 40 per cent higher than those of internal combustion vehicles (ICEs). 
 
On employment, Tavares explains that the transformation of the automotive industry is not about creating new jobs, but rather about redeploying skills, with a reduction in jobs in traditional technologies and an increase in areas such as software engineering, where Stellantis has taken on more than 4,000 engineers.
 
On the subject of mergers and acquisitions (M&A), Tavares clarified the situation by saying that no discussions were underway with Renault, despite media speculation. He says that Stellantis, as one of the most profitable manufacturers, is well positioned to face Chinese competition without the need for immediate M&A.

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