Stellantis ends all lobbying activities

Stellantis ends all lobbying after becoming frustrated with politicians over increasingly strict emissions regulations.

The automaker left ACEA, a lobby group of European automakers, last year as part of a new approach to addressing future mobility issues and challenges.

Now CEO Carlos Tavares has made an even more drastic decision to stop all lobbying of automakers.

“No more lobbyists, no more negotiations,” Tavares said. “We can no longer wait for the government to make a decision, we need to do it faster than regulation.”

Speaking as a bystander at the 2023 CES electronics show in Las Vegas, Tavares said the problem for the auto industry is predicting what politicians will prescribe as the next regulatory step.

Tavares is the former president of ACEA, which represents the major car, truck and bus companies with manufacturing operations in Europe.

European auto industry executives, including Mr. Tavares, said European Union politicians and officials have warned automakers that tougher emissions regulations are hurting an industry that is a major provider of jobs. I don’t think you have given due consideration to your concerns.

On previous occasions, Stellantis bosses have repeatedly called for plans for new environmental legislation to be based on scientific facts rather than on presumed relationships and impact variables.

“In my view, there are two ways of looking at the world to solve the CO2 problem. There is a pragmatic view and a dogmatic view. We are dogmatically believing that this goal can only be achieved with battery electric vehicles.

The EU road to increasingly stringent CO2 emission limits through to zero emission targets for newly registered passenger cars in 2035 ignores the fact that this does not regulate the majority of the vehicle population, he said. said.

Moreover, especially in the current economic crunch, many customers will not be able to afford new vehicles as prices rise to cover the cost of adding technology to meet tighter regulations, Tavares said. says. Instead, people drive outdated and environmentally harmful vehicles for longer.

Stellantis plans an annual Freedom of Movement event to discuss how to bring clean, safe and affordable freedom of movement to societies facing global warming. The first event will take place earlier this year.

According to Tavares, the idea is to have a broad public dialogue with stakeholders from all sectors, and fact-based discussions are central to the debate on environmental standards.