Stellantis has emerged as one of the few vehicle manufacturers in the UK to meet the Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) mandate for both cars and vans in 2024 entirely through sales.
Despite success in the UK, it has emerged that Stellantis has joined Tesla’s European Union CO2 compliance pool even though former CEO Carlos Tavares had insisted it could meet EU emissions standards organically.
The UK business recorded a 59% surge in electric car sales compared to 2023, selling 39,492 units and capturing a 10.3% share of the UK electric car market thanks to a broad portfolio of 30 electric vehicle models across 11 brands.
Stellantis Pro One, representing brands such as Vauxhall, Peugeot, Citroën, and Fiat Professional, cemented the company’s dominance in the electric van sector selling 7,821 electric vans in 2024 – equivalent to the combined sales of the second and third top competitors – helping the business to stake a dominant 35.6% market share.
Eurig Druce, group managing director, Stellantis UK, said: “2024 saw more people than ever purchase an EV and I’d like to thank our customers who have decided to switch to electric with one of our brands and also to our incredible UK retailer network for making it happen.
“Stellantis welcomes the UK Government‘s consultation on the phase out of new petrol and diesel cars from 2030 and support for zero-emission transition. Our ambition for 100% zero-emission vehicles is clearly explained in our Dare Forward 2030 strategic plan – our goals are aligned.
“However, despite offering a very comprehensive line-up of popular electric cars and vans, and a strong will and focus on making our EVs as attainable as possible, the steep trajectories of the ZEV mandate are out of step from current demand. Put simply, if the UK is to achieve its transport emission ambitions, and for EVs to represent 80% of new cars sold in 2030, then consumers are going to need more encouragement from Government to do so.”
Challenges however remain within the European Union territory where more stringent regulations come in to force in 2025.
Stellantis’s bid to average the emissions of its fleet by pooling with Tesla could potentially save the company hundreds of millions of euros in penalties or costs related to underperformance against the tighter EU standards.
By tapping into Tesla’s CO2 surplus, Stellantis is buying critical time to fine-tune its EV rollout, avoiding steep fines while directing resources toward improving EV production efficiency.
It has emerged that Tesla’s long CO2 position may yield over 1 billion euros in compensation from rival manufacturers with UBS analysts suggesting that the US car maker’s strategy to monetise its compliance position could limit the availability of pooling slots, increasing pressure on competitors like Volkswagen and Renault, who may need to pursue aggressive EV discounting or other costly measures.
