Tavares on the electric car
The European Union has banned diesel and petrol cars since 2035 but has miscalculated. Carlos Tavares returns to talk about the future of the automotive industry at Freedom of Mobility Forum organized by Stellantis and hurlagainst the intransigent positions in favor of the electric car. The CEO of the Franco-Italian automotive group has returned to expressing himself doubts about a passage to the green in forced stages, because he said “the affordability of electric cars is non-existent because the raw materials for their production are scarce and very expensive”.
“We know we need the lithium – continued Tavares – we know that we are not extracting what we need. Currently on our planet there are 1.3 billion cars powered by a combustion engineAnd. We will replace them with 100 percent electric cars, and this it will require a lot of lithium. Not only can there be too little lithium, but the concentration of lithium mining could cause geopolitical problems.”
Tavares also criticized the choice of players e-fuel, strongly desired by Germany, explaining: “With this regulatory approach adopted by the EU, the possibility of using, for example, biogas is excluded. They cannot properly separate carbon emissions from fossil fuels from carbon emissions that are part of nature’s natural cycle. So I’m concerned that policy makers are giving too narrow a picture and ruling out options for transportation that may very well have huge synergies for societies, both in terms of convenience and climate change mitigation.”
According to Tavares it would be fundamental being able to choose the most suitable technology depending on the country, speaking of “different solutions, differentiated between urban and rural areas” and between “different areas within the same country: 40% of the population does not live in urban areas and rural areas need different ways of mobility”, therefore not looking for solutions “inspired by a utopia”.
“There is a ∫great loss of creativity and scientific power in imposing a single technology instead of creating healthy competition – added Tavares. -It means removing power from science that can find new solutions for the decarbonisation of the auto sector”.
Beyond the criticisms Stellantis will still be ready for the deadlines decided by the European Union, even if “regarding 2035, the decision had to be made earlier”. “Electrification will be a great transformation of the industry with a great impact on society and people will have to be prepared – concluded the CEO of Stellantis -. Nor can Parliaments defeat physics”.