Stellantis, one of the world's largest automotive groups, announced that a little more than a year after its birth (a combination of PSA and FCA), it managed to accelerate its Low Emission Vehicle (LEV) sales momentum in Europe.
The company notes that the general situation in Europe (EU30 countries, defined as 27 European Union countries excluding Malta, plus Iceland, Norway, Switzerland and the UK) is challenging. In Q1 2022, the overall vehicle market was down 12.3% year-over-year.
Low Emission Vehicle (LEV) include Citroën Ami and Opel Rocks-e BEVs.
Nonetheless, Stellantis says that its position in the Passenger Cars and Light Commercial Vehicles (LCV) segments is strong with a market share of 21.0%. The group has put two brands (Peugeot and Citroën) and five models among the top 10 in Q1.
However, the key question are the Low Emission Vehicles, which mostly consist of plug-in vehicles.
According to Stellantis, in Q1 the company has become the LEV market leader in EU30 in countries such as Italy (35.7% market share), France (30.3%), Spain (21.8%) and Poland (14.9%). In the LEV Light Commercial Vehicles segment specifically, Stellantis has a huge 44.5% share in the entire EU30.
Highlights of the sales results include info that the electrified versions of the New Fiat 500, Peugeot 3008 and Peugeot 208 noted over 34,000 sales in Q1.
A noticeable achievement is that the Fiat 500 electric ranks third in the battery-electric car (BEV) segment, while the Peugeot 3008 PHEV ranks third in the plug-in hybrid car (PHEV) segment.
Earlier this year, Stellantis announced plans for electrification of its 14 brands. In Europe, the course is very clear - 100% BEV sales by the end of this decade.
In other markets, it might take longer, but considering more than a €30 billion investment globally (between 2021 and 2025) in electrification and software, we can be pretty sure that the progress will be pretty noticeable everywhere.
One of the most interesting new electric models from Stellantis without a doubt will be the Ram 1500 BEV pickup, scheduled for 2024.