This group is on its way to becoming the e-car king
Tesla is considered a pioneer among electric car manufacturers. But that doesn’t save the automaker from others doing a better race. In Europe, Elon Musk recently had to take a lot with his electric cars. A still relatively unknown group is now making a name for itself – and even wants to dethrone VW.
New number 2 for electric cars: Stellantis leaves Tesla behind
In contrast to Tesla, VW or Mercedes, the name Stellantis means little to many people. The young group has well-known brands such as Opel, Fiat and Peugeot on offer. Names that put you in a good position to play at the forefront. He just did Stellantis group ousted Tesla from second place in the race for the e-car crown.
“We battle in e-car sales on the European market for the top position”, said Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares during the presentation of the half-year results. The CEO can report successes: 105,413 pure electric cars are the Stellantis brands sold in Europe in the first half of the year (source: Automotive News Europe).
This secures place 2 behind VW. the Wolfsburg have 116,307 electric cars. This also includes group brands such as Audi or Skoda. Only a little over 10,000 units separate the top two. The car manufacturers are struggling with restrictions and production interruptions. But electric cars in particular have saved many people’s balance sheets so far.
At Tesla, meanwhile, things are looking very different in Europe: According to data from Dataforce, the US manufacturer only had 78,227 electric cars in the first half of the year. In order to the top dog among the e-car farmers ends up well behind VW and Stellantis.
There are good reasons why manufacturers are good at getting rid of their electric cars:
Fiat 500 Elektro becomes a hit for Stellantis
The reason for this is ultimately the same limitations that practically all manufacturers meet, but to different degrees. According to analysts, Tesla suffered particularly from the closure of its Chinese plant as a result of lockdowns. The start of the German Gigafactory has also been delayed several times, so that there is not yet as much construction and efficiency as originally planned.
Meanwhile, VW and Stellantis not only pocketed, but benefited. While VW mainly built profitable, expensive cars, it could Stellantis will deliver the most popular electric car in Europe in the second quarter: the Fiat 500 Elektro. Its sales figures skyrocketed in the spring – partly because of better availability. However, the more the new locations ramp up, the stronger Tesla should come back over the course of the year.
