Stellantis looks to India for EVs, says Europe is too expensive

Stellantis is weighing the idea of building electric vehicles in India, citing the reason that manufacturing EVs in Europe is becoming increasingly expensive. The automobile manufacturing group aims to take advantage of India's lower labour costs, said the company's CEO Carlos Tavares to Reuters. His comment comes at a time when the automobile group is investing heavily in electric vehicles and plans to produce dozens of EVs in the coming decade. However, even if Stellantis starts making affordable electric cars in India, finding a local source for the batteries would be a concern for the company.

Speaking about the EV manufacturing plans in India, Stellantis' CEO said that Europe is currently unable to make affordable electric vehicles, so the big opportunity for India would be to sell electric compact cars at an affordable price. He also said that currently, the auto company is mulling the plan, but nothing has been decided yet. The Stellantis boss also said last month that affordable battery electric vehicles are five to six years away from now. Further talking about the company's plan to make electric cars in India, Tavares has hinted that it is mulling the idea of exporting the made-in-India EVs to Europe, where demands for the new energy vehicles are increasing fast.

His comment also comes at a time when Chinese EV manufacturers are making inroads into Europe, aiming to tap the huge consumer base with more affordable cars. Keeping an eye on the auto company's plan and Tavares' comment, if Stellantis enters India for EV production, it could be a major milestone for the country's automotive industry as well as the local electric car market also.

Interestingly, Stellantis' possible bet on India comes after two US automobile giants, Ford and General Motors, have exited the world's fourth-largest car market. Both the auto companies failed to make money and break the dominance of Maruti Suzuki and Hyundai in India.