The French carmaker, which holds the world's third position in vehicle sales, will add a new model to its portfolio called the Citroën e-C3. This is being presented as the first affordable European-built electric car and will be unveiled in mid-October. The move by Stellantis is part of the company's strategy against rival Chinese brands and is intended to focus primarily on the European market.
Electric vehicles are currently being marketed as a more environmentally friendly alternative, but their fossil fuel siblings are still more affordable for most consumers. Therefore, companies, with the support of government subsidies, are trying to bring products to the market that are not just the privilege of more financially stable consumers. Steallantis is working on a social leasing programme that would allow less well-off households to benefit from this form of transport for around €100 a month. The financial subsidy applies to vehicles delivered in 2024 and will be introduced together with a new more affordable electric car. It will have a price tag of under EUR 25 thousand with a range of around 300 kilometres, it will be assembled in Slovakia and will be on the market in early 2024.
Stellantis' stock performance over the last five years. (Source: Google)*
In addition to the release of the new model, the carmaker also plans to invest €100 million in startups focused on car and battery technology as part of the Stellantis Venture Fund for Mobility. Its seed capital is €300 million and will back driver monitoring company Nauto, battery technology startup Electra Vehicles or Beweelsociety, which is working on electric bicycles, among others.
* Past performance is no guarantee of future results
