Stellantis, formed in 2021 after the merger of Italian American automaker Fiat Chrysler and France’s PSA, unveiled its electrification plans on July 8. The company will invest more than €30 billion over the next five years to develop new technologies and ecosystems. With electrification of its iconic brands, strategic partnerships for five giga factories, and a dedicated software team, Stellantis is ready to compete against other automakers globally.

Besides using best-in-class full-electrification solutions for its 14 iconic brands, Stellantis will also focus on electrifying its commercial vehicle line-up and rolling out hydrogen fuel-cell medium vans by the end of 2021. By 2025, 98% of all models across the company’s portfolio in Europe and the US will be electric. Stellantis predicts that the sale of its low emission vehicles (BEV and PHEV) will be over 70% in Europe and over 40% in the US by 2030.

Technology Development

Stellantis has unveiled four BEV-centric platforms which will be the backbone of its EVs. The highly flexible design, which allows sharing of components, will enable each platform to support the production of up to 2 million units per year. The platforms will come with three dedicated electric drive modules (EDM). These compact and flexible modules can be configured for front-wheel drive, rear-wheel drive, all-wheel drive and 4xe. The EDMs will house a common scalable power inverter, in-house proprietary controls, and software. The power inverter will be fitted with a selectable power device, either silicon (Si) or silicon carbide (SIC), for better performance. Three family solutions focused on performance, flexibility and efficiency will cater to all its brands across all four platforms. In Europe, these drivetrains will be supplied by NPe, a joint venture between Stellantis and NIDEC. The supply in the US will be done by Stellantis and its strategic partners.

Stellantis will develop a high energy-density nickel-based battery and a nickel-cobalt-free alternative under its dual chemistry battery strategy. These will be available in the market from 2024. This new solution will cut battery pack costs by more than 40% from 2020 to 2024 and by an additional 20% by 2030. To develop the battery production, Stellantis has already invested in three giga factories (two in Europe and one in the US), which will secure a cumulative plant capacity of 130+ GWh by 2025. By 2030, this capacity will go up to 260+ GWh with two more giga factories in Europe and the US. Stellantis has signed an MoU with two lithium geothermal brine process partners in the US and Europe to ensure an unhindered supply of lithium.

Ecosystem Plans

After securing the development and production of powertrains and batteries, Stellantis plans to develop a strong ecosystem for its EV business. The partnerships with Free2Move and Engie PS will allow Stellantis to provide customizable bundled charging solutions for both B2B and B2C segments. Jointly, they plan to deploy 5,000 grid integrated fast chargers across 1,500 locations in Europe by 2025, increasing them to 35,000 across 9,000 locations by 2030 across Europe, North America, and South America. Moreover, Stellantis is building a full circular battery recycling strategy for sustainable battery management. With software to manage and monitor battery health, Stellantis will set up 21 repair centres globally by the end of 2021 to provide unique services and solutions to its customers. Batteries not fit for vehicles anymore will be used for charging and energy storage solutions in their second life. With qualified partners, Stellantis will recycle batteries using a new technology that will be able to extract most of the raw materials for their reuse in new batteries. Stellantis is expecting a volume growth of nearly 5,000 batteries per year by 2030 for recycling only in Europe. To support this, battery re-manufacturing units are also planned. Currently, there is only one at Rüsselsheim in Germany.

Lastly, the company will have a dedicated software development unit that will provide software for better traction control and regenerative braking, superior battery management system and power usage. The new smart cockpit and remote service products are expected to deliver a best-in-class experience.

Several key technology joint ventures, like with NIDEC for e-powertrain; with ACC, TotalEnergies, CATL, BYD, LG Chem and SVOLT for battery cell chemistry and pack production; with Foxconn for the smart cockpit and remote service; and with Free2move and Engie PS for the deployment of charging infrastructure, will not only provide Stellantis the opportunity to leverage its in-house competencies but will also enable it to bring solutions in the market more rapidly and stay ahead of the competition.