Key facts
- US EV sales remain at 7% of the market, unchanged from five years ago.
- Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares believes electrification will eventually take hold in the US.
- Tavares sees range-extender technology as a growing interest for US customers in large pickups and SUVs.
- The automotive sector is becoming less global and more regional due to trade barriers, according to Tavares.
- Automakers must balance local preferences and regulations with global scale, especially in technology, Tavares said.
The US auto market is expected to eventually adopt electric vehicles (EVs), though at a slower pace than other regions, according to Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares. Speaking at an event on the sidelines of the Paris motor show, Tavares noted that EVs currently account for 7% of US auto sales, a figure that has remained unchanged for the past five years.
Tavares attributed the slow uptake to a "bubble driven by regulation," stating that consumers have preferred other powertrains when regulations have eased. For Stellantis, a key player in North America, there is increasing customer interest in range-extender technology for large pickups and SUVs, which he described as "customer driven."