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Stellantis Europe's CEO, Jean-Philippe Imparato Stellantis
"Europe is open to revising CO2 limits, but our problem is the deadlines"

"Europe is open to revising CO2 limits, but our problem is the deadlines"

Juan Roig Valor

Miércoles, 15 de enero 2025, 15:05

Jean-Philippe Imparato is the CEO of Stellantis in its most significant region, which the vehicle manufacturer calls Extended Europe – including countries outside the European Union. Following the abrupt departure of Carlos Tavares on December 1st, with 18 months remaining on his contract, Imparato is effectively in charge of steering the organisation until a successor is appointed.

The profile is fitting for the moment: he was responsible for Alfa Romeo when its smallest model caused tensions with the Italian government under Giorgia Meloni and had to be renamed Junior instead of Milano, so political negotiations, inevitable in such a high-stakes position, are not unfamiliar to him.

Moreover, he also leads Pro One, the lucrative commercial vehicle division that unifies the operations of the group's various brands. Collectively, in Europe, it accounts for about a third of sales volume.

However, 2025 begins with two major threats for Stellantis: the fines facing manufacturers if they fail to meet the CO2 targets set by Brussels – it is estimated that 22% of their sales will need to be electric – and particularly weak figures in the US, where Chrysler, Jeep, and Ram once dominated.

In the context of the Brussels Motor Show, the Italian executive met with the press to outline his strategy while he remains responsible for Europe.

Carlos made a personal decision with all due respect to the company and shareholders. Between John Elkann, Carlos Tavares, and Stellantis, there were no statements suggesting a major governance crisis. But you know Carlos, he is a man who makes big decisions, and John also makes decisions. You have two great personalities, and they decided to close one period and open another.

After 10 years, it is not entirely abnormal to decide to leave. In this world, once a decision is made, you act immediately. You do not wait months to act. From December 1st, we began working on a strategic reorientation because the strategy does not change, but we do want to review the methods.

No. From the beginning, I said I am not a candidate. I am not for many reasons: I am much more interested in the field, in the customers, the dealers, the brands... This is my life, this is what I love, and I do not want to spend time on some strategic areas where I feel it is not my strength.

Moreover, I am 58 years old, so I think I am not in a position to create the company for 2040. I believe you need someone capable of doing that. I can solve the problem of January 2025, the Brussels Motor Show, and probably the first half, but probably not the next 15 years.

Not being a candidate makes things easier because you can be very free to do your job: reconnect with customers, with the network, with governments, with our people in the factories. That is my mission.

I love both for two reasons. Vans in Enlarged Europe represent 30% of revenue and something around 40% of profits. So for me, Enlarged Europe and vans are absolutely linked. I am less in contact with Antonio Filosa on the pick-up side, obviously, because I do not consider I will teach him how to sell Ram in America.

On the pick-up side, it is more driven by America. On the van side, I am the one leading the operation. Everyone is happy, no problem.

Yes, it is still the case because the parameters have not changed, but the situation is surely more difficult than at the beginning of October, because then you had incentives in some countries, like the Netherlands, France, Italy, etc. Since October, almost all purchase incentives have disappeared.

Today we are around 12% electric and need to reach 21%, doing so with a certain level of incentives is a challenge, but without them, it is more difficult.

My first mission is to facilitate the leap for my team. We have maintained the pressure on new product launches, especially on cars below 20,000 euros to have them as quickly as possible in the market: C3 Aircross, Opel Frontera, Fiat Grande Panda. Additionally, I am partnering with Leap Motor, my best ally. For each one you sell, it allows you to sell four internal combustion vehicles.

The second decision is to change the commercial policy in European countries and incentivise them from the central office. In summary: if you sell electric vehicles, you are rich. If you sell many electric vehicles, you are very rich.

The third decision is the total empowerment of subsidiaries in each country. For example, Italy is Antonella Bruno. This means that if Ms. Bruno meets her objectives, she can decide that the entire network complies. Everyone knows their target, which is not a percentage, but a number of cars. If they achieve it, I pay.

Thus, if Enlarged Europe complies, whatever channel it uses – direct sales, car rentals, demonstration cars, B2B fleets... – I can alleviate the situation for all dealers for all brands. The message is the team, "la squadra".

We also want to avoid discussions with governments and the European community. That is why we decided to return to ACEA. Seeing that all incentives are disappearing, our problems are becoming exactly the same, and it is important to carry a common message.

Finally, I decided to buy emissions from Tesla to facilitate my team's objectives without having to wait. I wanted to be ready on January 1st because my team needs to know what we are going to do.

No, I need to be slightly below, but I will not reveal how much. When you have a certain level of incentives available, you can operate alone. But not if they do not exist. And I hope the authorities get the message in time. But I cannot afford to wait. That is why we made this decision. You know Stellantis meets emissions in the UK, right? It cost me two points of market share, but they managed to be around 22% without anyone's help. If they achieved it, it shows we can do it as a group. Probably not in all countries, but in many. Spain cannot reach 20%. Portugal can exceed it.

That is exactly what I proposed to the French government. When we talked about social leasing in France – which, by the way, is the same principle for all countries – I said: do not think a new car is less costly than a used one. Secondly, if you are going to implement any incentive, please consider the stock of battery electric vehicles (BEV) that dealers have in their countries.

In terms of residual value, there is not a big difference between the residual value of internal combustion and electric. The car changes hands three times in its life: after four years, after eight years, and after twelve years. The big drop in residual value occurs after four years. But after the second cycle, it is the same. After eight years, the electric and thermal will sell for 5,000 euros.

I can confirm that Spain is in Zaragoza with two offers in the B segment, which are the 208 and the Corsa. You know perfectly well what we are doing at the moment, but we will communicate it in due course this year.

Yes, it is possible. When there is a will, there is a way. So let us be very constructive and productive. We are very pleased with that. ACEA will take everyone's position to the European Commission, but the problem is the speed, because every day I see risks ahead of me. Not for me, because we are a big group. We have great support from America, great support from EMEA, and South America is flying. We are doing the work. We are trying to be very proactive and meeting constantly, but it feels like a very unstable environment.

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