Stellantis NV said legacy and new automakers should compete on the same page following a squabble with France over where it expands output of the electric Peugeot e-208 and after European leaders flung open their doors to Elon Musk.
Governments taking a keen interest in carmakers is “a good thing” during the transition to electric vehicles, while stressing it’s important to avoid “discrimination,” Chief Executive Officer Carlos Tavares said Monday.
Europe’s second-biggest carmaker, after Volkswagen AG, and France’s Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire have clashed over Stellantis favoring Spain to enlarge capacity for the electric version of the best-selling compact model.
“We have to be on the same playing field,” Tavares said in an interview at the Paris air show. “Why don’t we ask our competitors to make” mass-market EVs in France. “That’s one idea.”
Governments across Europe are fighting over the future of carmaking jobs with the shift to EVs requiring fewer workers. Making battery versions of successful compact cars is especially tough because of high battery prices eroding thin profit margins. Stellantis last week unveiled details of an EV costing less than €25,000 ($27,329) that is due to go on sale early next year and will be made in Slovakia.
During a whistle-stop tour last week, Tesla Inc. CEO Musk courted top political leaders, meeting Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and French President Emmanuel Macron.
