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Stellantis could close its factories as a result of EU fines on carbon emissions

The head of Stellantis' European operations, a Franco-Italian company, said that the automaker may be forced to shut down factories as he fears hefty fines from the European Union for failing to meet CO2 emissions targets.

As part of the EU's effort to curb the devastating effects of climate changes, European auto manufacturers must sell more electric cars to reduce CO2 emissions. Otherwise, they risk being penalized. The automaker industry successfully lobbied to extend the deadline for compliance, so that fines are based on emissions in 2025-2027 and not just 2025.

Jean-Philippe Imparato, the Europe Chief of Stellantis, said that automakers were not able to reach their targets and his company could be fined up to 2,95 billion euros in "two-three" years.

He said, at a conference held in the lower chamber of the parliament in Rome, that if there are no significant changes to the regulatory environment by the end this year, then "we will be forced to take tough decisions."

Imparato explained that Stellantis's fleet would have to be re-energy by switching to electric vehicles rather than petrol or diesel. This is not possible, as Stellantis either has to double the sales of electric vehicles (which is impossible) or reduce the production of petrol/diesel vehicles.

"I have only two options: either I push hard (on electric vehicles) or I shut down ICEs (internal-combustion engine vehicles). "I close factories," he said at one point, mentioning Atessa's Italian van plant.

(source: Reuters)