US tariffs and EU emissions rules imperil car industry, Stellantis chair says

Stellantis chair John Elkann on Tuesday said that US tariffs and strict EU emissions standards were putting carmakers at risk while they face increased competition from China.

Stellantis, the world’s fourth-largest carmaker by sales, was formed in 2021 through the merger of Fiat-Chrysler and Peugeot and Citroën maker PSA. Its brands also include Jeep, Alfa Romeo and Opel.

“With the current path of painful tariffs and overly rigid regulations, the American and European car industries are being put at risk,” Elkann said at a shareholders’ meeting.

“That would be a tragedy as car manufacturing is a source of jobs, innovation and strong communities,” he said.

Elkann, who is steering the group while it looks for a new CEO after Carlos Tavares left late last year, said “China is on another trajectory” with its vehicle market set for the first time to overtake in size the US and European markets combined.

In the US, carmakers are facing “layer upon layer of additional compounding tariffs including those on aluminium, steel and parts” beyond the 25% rate imposed on automotive imports, Elkann said.

However, he said he was encouraged by US President Donald Trump’s statement on Monday that he was considering some form of tariff reprieve for cars and vehicle parts imports from Mexico, Canada and other countries.

As for the EU, Elkann described the bloc’s regulation on CO₂ emissions as imposing an “unrealistic path to electrification, disconnected from market realities”.

“Governments in Europe — sometimes abruptly — withdrew purchase incentives, and the charging infrastructure remains inadequate,” he said.

Reuters