Stellantis NV’s chief executive officer is happy with his decision to downsize in the world’s largest auto market, saying rivals Volkswagen AG and General Motors Co. are “under pressure” in China as local competitors slash prices.
(Bloomberg) — Stellantis NV’s chief executive officer is happy with his decision to downsize in the world’s largest auto market, saying rivals Volkswagen AG and General Motors Co. are “under pressure” in China as local competitors slash prices.
“Some of our western peers are now under pressure in China, namely Volkswagen and GM,” Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares said on a call with reporters Wednesday. “They are under pressure because their BEV business is not very big, eventually not very profitable, and they see that their ICE business is shrinking,” he said, referring to battery-electric and internal combustion engine vehicles.
Stellantis, the world’s fifth-biggest automaker by sales, shuttered its only Jeep factory in China last year, citing market meddling by local politicians. Formed from the 2021 merger of Fiat Chrysler and France’s PSA Group, Stellantis has long struggled in China, prompting Tavares to adopt an “asset-light” strategy and consider stopping production there altogether as Western nameplates cede market share.
China’s EV makers are using an unprecedented price war to take share from foreign rivals, with homegrown upstart BYD Co. dethroning Volkswagen as the top carmaker in first quarter. Volkswagen had been the best-selling brand among automakers in China since at least 2008. Its loss of share reflects the declining influence of legacy foreign brands as Chinese EV makers muscle in with increasingly sophisticated — and affordable — models.
More: China’s Rapid Shift to Electric Cars Has VW Trailing BYD, Geely
–With assistance from Albertina Torsoli.
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