Barely ten weeks after his appointment, Antonio Filosa, the new CEO of Stellantiswas quick to make his voice heard. And his comments are likely to shake up the European debate on the future of the automotive industry. In a series of interviews with Il Sole 24 Ore and Les Echos, the Italian leader bluntly asserted that the ban on sales of combustion engine cars in 2035, as adopted by Brussels, "is not realistic".
A stance that breaks with the Tavares era
As successor to Carlos Tavares, who had publicly supported the objectives of the European Green Deal despite reservations about their implementation, Filosa stands out for his commitment to "technological neutrality and flexibility". In his view, Europe cannot lock itself into total electrification at a time when the market is shrinking: from 18 million cars sold in 2019, it has fallen to less than 15 million today. "Three million fewer cars is the equivalent of the Italian and Spanish markets combined, lost in just five years," he recalled.
This vision found an immediate echo in Rome. The Minister for Enterprise and Made in Italy, Adolfo Urso, welcomed Stellantis' position, saying that alignment with Italian demands "marks a clear discontinuity with the past". According to him, Italian car production could reach the symbolic milestone of one million units per year if the European Union agreed to relax its rules.
Targets deemed out of reach
Filosa does not question the long-term trajectory: Stellantis remains committed to achieving carbon neutrality by 2050. But he believes that intermediate steps, such as reducing emissions by 55 % by 2030 and banishing combustion by 2035, are "unrealistic" given economic and industrial constraints. The CEO advocates a more flexible system, which would promote all forms of electrification (hybrids, plug-in hybrids, range extenders) as well as investment in infrastructure and the industry.
Beyond regulations, the Stellantis boss points to a concrete problem: the average age of European vehicles continues to rise, and now exceeds 12 years. More than 250 million old cars are still on the road on the Old Continent. For Filosa, the priority should be to encourage their replacement by newer, less polluting models, rather than clinging to total electrification, which remains out of reach for a large proportion of consumers.
To support this strategy, Stellantis is banking on the "Piano Italia", backed by John Elkann and Antonio Filosa. By the end of 2025, the new Jeep Compass produced at Melfi and the Fiat 500 hybrid made at Mirafiori will boost volumes. To these will be added models on the STLA Medium and Small platforms. Affordable vehicles that are designed to revive demand currently held back by rising prices.
Between Europe, the United States and China: a fragmented market
In his statements, Filosa also highlights the growing divergence between the world's major regions. In the United States, the Trump administration has changed its climate policy, and the market remains open to combustion engines, until the return of the Hemi V8, so popular with Jeep customers. In China, on the other hand, electrification is progressing apace, supported by an offensive industrial policy. Europe, on the other hand, is stuck in a rigid strategy which, according to the head of Stellantis, threatens its own industry.
With just a few days to go before the Strategic Automotive Dialogue scheduled for September 12, Antonio Filosa calls on Brussels to move swiftly "from strategic dialogue to strategic action". Time is of the essence, he insists, if we are to avoid further industrial decline. His message is clear: Europe needs to rethink its approach, introduce flexibility and not cut itself off from economic and social realities.
English 
French 
Italian 
Spanish 
Portuguese 
German 
Japanese 
Turkish 
Dutch
To many brands not enough investment and to arrogant to listen to customers needs chinese brands listen to customers
Or we have 4 ev non are stellantis products because you do not take customer feed back seriously
The partner likes cars not suv when astra and 308 ev came out we tried it and with other potential customers we all said needs bigger battery and more powerful abd efficient motor we gotvtold they are coming we drive have hyundai mg and byd ev. Not stellantis
Electric car sales are not progressing in many countries, including France. Even if we're not opposed to electric cars, the practical side hasn't been resolved, with not enough recharging points, and a range that's often insufficient outside town.
Even to rent a car, I don't want to have fun looking for chargers, nor do I want to have to plan a 30-minute stop on the freeway. So I give up.
Added to this is the price of electric cars, which may deter some buyers.
2035 is an illusory date for the switch to all-electricity.
It's not cool, it's bad will, there's no difference between thermal and electric, for the Km it's wrong too, I have one and no regrets on the contrary.
Who does 400 km without a break anyway?
Also grundsätzlich fahren sehr viele Menschen mehr als 400 Km ohne Pause und selbst wenn eine Pause gemacht wird dann max. für einige Minuten. Ganz abgesehen davon sind E-Autos die 400 Km schaffen oder mehr für die meisten einfach unerschwinglich, das denke ich meinte Stanislas mit dem Verkaufspreis der abschreckt.
I considered buying an Abarth 500e, then an Alfa Romeo Junior Veloce.
Impossible to do 200 kms on the freeway, except at 110 km/h.
With my Alfa Romeo thermics I easily cover 500 kms between 2 fill-ups, and when I stop I'm not going to wait 30 minutes to recharge.
Moreover, when you live in an apartment, you are dependent on a collective installation.
And if you want to rent an electric car, it's also more complicated, because if you don't have a charger where you're going, you have to plan everything.
Ich fahre 800 km ohne Pause und möchte mich niemals von irgendwelchen Elektroschrott aufhalten lassen. Weg mit den E Autos, Verbrenner-Produktion ankurbeln!
Super , so ist ES, BENZINER + HIBRID ONE LADEN IM Stromnetz JA !!!!
DIESEL WEG , und Alen Zufrieden
Bof Filosa couldn't care less about Stellantis' future in Europe. He's just a CEO who wants to do business in the Americas, he wants to bring out the Merchione method. In short, Italians are going to feel the pinch and French brands are going to disappear. Bravo, Chinese.
They all say so.
EVs are too expensive, not compatible with long-distance travel (especially for professionals), too complicated for recharging, which is itself powered by oil-fired power stations and intoxicates customers when they are too close to the charging stations... etc.
A lot of customers are backing out, so it's clear that this is just a Chimera. A downtown alternative is okay, but for the rest, no.
N'importe quoi. You've got to stop buying into the ravings of associative networks. Well, for that to happen, the press would have to do its job too. Alas, all this is worthy of a bistro. In any case, mankind is going to have a hard time on this planet in the future.
That's a crazy answer, none of the bollards are powered by an oil-fired generator!
The terminals are on the elec distribution network, fortunately.
Then I drive a lot and challenge the ignorant, I can do 1000 km in a day without question,
On weekdays it costs me 2€/100 km
Going to work to do better
That's a crazy answer, none of the bollards are powered by an oil-fired generator!
The terminals are on the elec distribution network, fortunately.
Then I drive a lot and challenge the ignorant, I can do 1000 km in a day without question,
On weekdays it costs me 2€/100 km
Going to work to do better
Macht so als wenn es hier etwas zu diskutieren gäbe, Ihr stürzt ganze Volkswirtschaften in den Ruin. Weiter so!
Als ob es hier etwas zu diskutieren gäbe, Ihr stürzt ganze Volkswirtschaften in den Ruin. Weiter so!
Gibt es hier etwas zu diskutieren, Ihr stürzt ganze Volkswirtschaften in den Ruin. Weiter so!
Cooler Bericht und ich bin auch für die Beibehaltung für den Verbrenner,Ich fahre einen Jeep Avenger benzin hybrid automatik
Es bueno pensar en un cambio pero de todos modos que vamos hacer con las baterías cuando se desechen también es contaminación se tiene que buscar una manera diferente de movilidad porque tanto la combustión por medio de fósiles es. Mala. Como la de vehículos eléctricos
Electricity is good for the city or large metropolis well equipped with terminals and a nuclear power station, it is the equivalent of GSM, it took 30. years to go to 5 generation, in Europe we're not in China where things are happening fast.