Stellantis Targets Electric Vehicles With $35.5B Plan: What Investors Need To Know

Stellantis NV STLA on Thursday announced an aggressive plan to gain ground in the global electric vehicle market, saying it will spend 30 billion euros ($35.5 billion) by 2025 to add EVs with between 300 miles and 500 miles of range. 

A new Ram electric pickup is a highlight of the plan, slated for 2024 introduction.

Stellantis Outlines EV Plan: Stellantis, which owns U.S. brands including Jeep and Chrysler along with Fiat, Opel and Peugeot, said it expects EVs to represent 70% of European sales and 40% of U.S. sales by 2030.

The company said it will erect five “gigafactories” in those two regions in coming years in order to meet demand for batteries

All 14 Stellantis brands will eventually offer full electrified vehicles.

What It Means For Stellantis: This could be a boost for U.S.-based brands under the former Chrysler umbrella — brands long seen as trailing the wider auto industry in terms of fuel efficiency.

To date, electric cars represent a tiny fraction of U.S. vehicle sales, and Jeep Wranglers, Dodge Chargers and Ram pickups have been popular with buyers, even if green-minded regulators frown on them. Chrysler has purchased fuel-economy vehicles from Tesla Inc TSLA in recent years.

Stellantis Chief Executive Carlos Tavaras said in a virtual press conference that his company aims to seek a leadership position in the world through its investments.

Stellantis execs said the company believes it has reached the limits on how far it can push the efficiency of conventional internal combustion engines, and will add electric motors to add a boost to gasoline cars or transition the fleet to fully electric depending on what makes sense.

The Final Word: “The strategy we laid out today focuses the right amount of investment on the right technology to reach the market at the right time, ensuring that Stellantis powers the freedom of movement in the most efficient, affordable and sustainable way,” Tavaras said.

STLA Price Action: Stellantis shares were trading down 3.01% premarket Thursday at $19.02.