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Automotive giant aims to offer electric cars with 800km range by 2023
Stellantis was created at the beginning of this year after a merger of Fiat-Chrysler and PSA, a French group that includes car makes such as Peugeot, Citroen and Opel
Stellantis, a multinational automotive manufacturer, hopes to roll out a range of electric cars in 2023 capable of going between 500 to 800km before needing to be recharged.
The current average range of battery electric vehicles (BEV) is around 300km.
Stellantis groups together 14 car brands, including Alfa Romeo, Fiat, Opel, Peugeot and Jeep.
The company was formed in January this year after a merger between Fiat-Chrysler and French group PSA.
The group's CEO Carlos Tavares said on Thursday (April 15) that it plans to develop four car platforms that will be pure electric and used by the 14 brands under Stellantis.
A car platform is a type of template chassis or structure. Affiliated vehicle brands share these platforms when building models of cars.
“These platforms will deliver significant progress to address the range anxiety of BEVs,” Mr Tavares said.
Some sections of the public remain hesitant about buying electric cars due to their limited range.
Mr Tavares said that of the models being developed, the small city-cars, SUVs and pickups will have a range of 500km, while the medium-sized models will have a range of 700km and the sedans 800km.
The group is aiming to triple its sales of hybrid and electric cars this year to 14% of overall sales. It is aiming to reach up to 70% of sales by 2030.
