acf domain was triggered too early. This is usually an indicator for some code in the plugin or theme running too early. Translations should be loaded at the init action or later. Please see Debugging in WordPress for more information. (This message was added in version 6.7.0.) in /home/ecg/ecgassociationdev/wp-includes/functions.php on line 6121Automotive News Europe — 2025-04-15
Automotive Industry
Stellantis Chairman John Elkann said U.S. tariffs and strict European Union emissions standards were threatening the industry.
“With the current path of painful tariffs and overly rigid regulations, the American and European car industries are being put at risk,” amid increased competition from China, Elkann said at the automaker’s annual meeting on April 14.
“That would be a tragedy as car manufacturing is a source of jobs, innovation and strong communities,” he said.
Elkann described current auto industry conditions as “extreme” and called for the U.S. and Europe to take urgent action to ensure an “orderly transition,” with their combined markets set to be overtaken for the first time by China.
In the U.S., automakers face “layer upon layer of additional compounding tariffs, including those on aluminum, steel and parts” beyond the 25 percent rate for automotive imports, Elkann said.
However, he said he was encouraged by President Donald Trump’s statement on April 14 that he was considering some form of tariff reprieve for auto and auto part imports from Mexico, Canada and other countries.
EU ‘disconnected from market realities’
As for Europe, Elkann said the European Union’s CO2 regulation was imposing an “unrealistic path to electrification, disconnected from market realities.”
“Governments in Europe – sometimes abruptly – withdrew purchase incentives, and the charging infrastructure remains inadequate,” slowing a transition to electric vehicles, he said.
Shareholders at the annual meeting backed a final 35 million-euro ($40 million) compensation package for Tavares, who left in December following a dramatic plunge in sales and profit and broken relationships with suppliers, dealers and investors.
Elkann did not provide fresh details about the search for a new CEO, but reiterated a new chief would be picked in the first half.
Stellantis has trimmed its shortlist of CEO candidates to five, sources told Reuters, with two internal names — the head of North American business Antonio Filosa and the head of procurement Maxime Picat — and three external ones.