Stellantis N.V. unveiled in a presentation earlier this week what it says is a bold strategic plan for the rest of the decade to be “second to none” in value creation for all stakeholders. With Dare Forward 2030, the company wants to become the industry champion in the fight against climate change, reaching carbon net-zero emissions by 2038, with a 50% reduction by 2030.

“Taking a leadership role in decarbonization, as well as a decisive step forward in the circular economy, is our contribution to a sustainable future,” said Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares. “As part of that leadership, we are setting the course for 100% of sales in Europe and 50% of sales in the U.S. to be battery electric vehicles (BEVs) by the end of this decade.”

In laying out the Stellantis long-term strategic plan, Tavares emphasized a better focus on the customer.

“We aim to be No. 1 in customer satisfaction for our products and services in every market,” he said. “We will pay exceptional attention to the full end-to-end experience, working to eliminate any friction throughout the value chain. We will lead the commercial vehicle market with the most efficient portfolio of products and services bringing exceptional solutions to our professional customers.”

To ensure a more sustainable future of mobility, it is establishing a circular economy “cradle-to-cradle” business unit. And more autonomy will be given to its seven accretive businesses: mobility, financial services, pre-owned cars, aftermarket, data-as-a-service, circular economy, and commercial vehicles. Another element of the plan is making Stellantis “an extraordinary place to work and a magnet for people.”

It has big plans to double net revenues by 2030 and sustain double-digit adjusted operating income margins throughout the decade, with new car revenues from premium and luxury vehicle segments to increase fourfold.

 

More-electric product highlights

On the product side, the company expects global BEV sales of five million units in 2030 and to lead the industry with more than 75 BEVs.

During the presentation, the company provided a glimpse of two upcoming vehicles. The Jeep brand’s first fully electric SUV launching in early 2023  and a preview of the new Ram 1500 BEV pickup truck arriving in 2024.

For Jeep, the first electric SUV supports the brand’s worldwide quest toward “Zero Emission Freedom.”

“Electrification will amplify Jeep’s core brand attributes: capability, open-air freedom, fun, and style,” said Tavares. “This new model will launch during the first half of next year and is the first of a comprehensive fully electric Jeep lineup that will cover every SUV segment by 2025.”

The U.S. market will get one-third of Stellantis’ EV portfolio. The “specific” U.S. product offensive will feature more than 25 all-new BEVs.

“Our aggressive product offensive will bring battery-electric options to every iconic American product family no later than 2025,” said Tavares.

In the U.S., he revealed that two of the upcoming products from Jeep are an off-road UV and a lifestyle family SUV, both arriving in 2024.

Of the new product, Tavares was most forthcoming on the Ram 1500 BEV coming to market in 2024. It’s built on the new STLA Frame architecture designed specifically for full-size electric vehicles.

“According to our internal performance index, our Ram 1500 will outperform all competitors on the attributes customers care most about: range, towing, payload, and charge time,” said Tavares. “We’ll bring the best electric truck to the full-size segment. And Ram will continue delivering fully electrified solutions in the majority of its segments by 2025, and a full portfolio of electrified solutions for all of its segments no later than 2030.”

Among the other U.S. brands, Chrysler revealed in January that it will launch its first electric vehicle by 2025 with the Airflow concept. The brand plans to go fully electric by 2028. Later this year, Dodge will unveil its first battery-electric muscle car concept, with the production version hitting the streets in 2024.

Stellantis is targeting leadership in the commercial vehicle (CV) market powered by 26 new launches and electric offerings in all segments. Earlier this year, the company announced that Amazon would be the first commercial customer for the Ram Promaster BEV coming in 2023.

 

Electric tech with partners

The company’s tech pillar now focuses on core innovations in four areas: electrification and beyond, software and AI, autonomous driving, and Stellantis Venture Fund.

On the electrification front, the strategy laid out at the company’s EV Day in July 2021 continues, with plans to invest more than €30 billion through 2025. Its four BEV-centric STLA platforms—Small, Medium, Large, and Frame—are the backbone of the plan, designed with a high level of flexibility and component sharing. The platforms are partnered with a family of three electric drive modules (EDMs) that are said to be compact, flexible, and easily scalable.

At the Dare Forward 2030 event, Tavares declared that the Stellantis battery-electric ecosystem “is well set.”

Among its elements, the company has an electric powertrain joint venture with Nidec, Nidec PSA Emotors SAS, and a fast-charging network rollout planned with Free2Move eSolutions. Its planned five battery gigafactories in North America and Europe, with partners like Samsung SDI, LG Energy Solution, ACC, and other sourcing contracts, will contribute to the estimated needs of 400 GWh by 2030—an increase of 140 GWh from initial Stellantis plans.

With investments in Factorial and ACC, the company is looking to accelerate the development of solid-state batteries to give more range, faster charging, and lighter technologies. It is also working with Vulcan Energy to secure a decarbonized supply of battery-grade lithium hydroxide.

“We are innovating, driving costs down, and packaging the latest technologies in all our vehicles, from the most affordable ones to the high-performance offerings,” said Tavares. “We want to have a future where mobility is accessible to all. The combination of the platforms, EDMs, high-energy-density battery packs, and charging networks [will] deliver best-in-class performance in efficiency, range, and recharging.”

On the new-energy side, the company will also expand hydrogen fuel cell technology to large vans in 2024, with the first U.S. offering in 2025, and further expand the tech to heavy-duty trucks.

 

Software and data opportunities

For the company’s software transformation, it is working to reach a fleet of 39 million connected vehicles with regular over-the-air updates.

“As we shared in detail during our Software Day in December, this fleet of vehicles will generate €20 billion of revenue at 40% gross margins through five business pillars,” said Tavares. “Our strategy is to disconnect the hardware and the software cycles to create a product that can evolve regularly following customer needs.”

Stellantis is planning three STLA technology platforms deployed at scale, with SmartCockpit, AutoDrive, and Brain shared across the four EV-focused vehicle platforms. The company will vertically integrate key elements of new electronics and software platforms, closely managing the electronic supply chain including semiconductors to ensure access to the best technologies and fulfill its volume ambitions.

“STLA Brain will feature the most advanced systems-on-chip in cooperation with key technology partners, and we will complete our targeted vertical hardware and software integration for all products before 2030,” said Tavares. “Our three new tech platforms are being developed with truly leading-edge innovators. Our cooperation with Amazon and Foxconn on STLA SmartCockpit will make our vehicles the most wanted, most captivating place to be using AI and advanced cloud solutions.”

Stellantis also is looking to master the highest levels of autonomous driving technology and ensure its customers are confident that the tech is safe and reliable.

“We are already offering among the best Level 2 solutions,” said Tavares. “In 2024, with the STLA AutoDrive introduction, we’ll bring a hands-free, eyes-off Level 3 solution with our partner BMW.”

The company is also working with Waymo to solve the delivery-as-a-service challenge and bring an autonomous solution for light commercial vehicles. It plans to deliver the first prototype vehicles for the project by the end of 2022.

“Our ambition is to make commercial use of this technology available in the second half of the decade,” said Tavares.

A critical business pillar of the Stellantis software strategy is to create a business to manage all the incoming data from its 34 million and growing connected vehicles. The company expects this to contribute €9 billion in data-business annual revenue by 2030 with up to a 70% margin.

“We look at data in two ways,” said Tavares. One is “to support our internal operations, especially the continuous improvement of our customers’ experience and the development of AI-based features, and two [is] to support data-as-a-service for external customers.”

To further chase breakthrough technologies from outside its traditional network, the company is setting up the Stellantis Corporate Venture Fund. The initial €300 million aims to accelerate the company’s innovation potential with strategic investments in the best startups and adopt their advanced technologies.

The company will also roll out software, data, and electric academies to support its transformation.