Stellantis NV (NYSE:STLA, EPA:STLA)'s boss has warned the carmaker could ditch Britain over obligations to sell an increasing proportion of electric vehicles (EVs) annually.
Carlos Tavares called the rules, which come under the zero emissions vehicle (ZEV) mandate, “terrible” for the UK in a media briefing on Thursday, adding they could see the Vauxhall and Fiat maker leave.
“It’s very simple. The ZEV mandate is [forcing] carmakers to have a growing EV sales mix every year,” he said in a briefing on Thursday.
“The problem is the natural demand of the market today in the UK on EVs is half of the mandate.”
Under the mandate, carmakers are required to ensure an increasing proportion of annual their sales are electric cars, stretching to 80% by 2030 and 100% by 2035.
Tavares said he had urged the government to scale back the rules in a meeting on Wednesday, with Telegraph-cited sources suggesting Stellantis may restrict UK sales.
“If your mandate is imposing on you a level of [...] sales mix that is double the natural demand of the market, and if the ZEV mandate puts me in a corner by saying, ‘if you don’t meet this, I’m going to kill you with fines’, the consequence is that everybody will start pushing the BEV, which then totally destroys profitability,” he added.
“You would not expect Stellantis to support a red ink business.”