Major auto manufacturers around the world are actively promoting electrification and new energy. However, there are also manufacturers in the market who are not so aggressive about electrifying cars.
Carlos Tavares, CEO of Peugeot Citroen (PSA), said recently that electric cars were only bought by " green addicts " and lacked the broader appeal needed to attract mainstream consumers, according to Reuters.
"When some markets are cancelling some subsidies, demand collapses," Tavares said about electric car sales during a conference call arranged to replace a roundtable discussion at the Geneva car show, which was canceled.
At the same time, he also pointed out the difficulties in the sales of electric vehicles. "The battle from now on is that zero emission vehicles become affordable between now and 2025," Tavares said.
"We are selling our electric vehicles to green addicts. We didn't move to the pragmatists," Tavares said, referring to Peugeot's difficulties in selling electric cars to mainstream consumers.
Tavares said that the lack of a dense charging network in the market, the limited range of electric vehicles, and the long-term uncertainty surrounding electricity prices are hindering the widespread use of electric vehicles.
It is based on this understanding that Peugeot Citroen decided to develop an integrated vehicle platform that can simultaneously support the production of pure electric, hybrid or gasoline vehicles.
Tavares' views on electric models confirm that Peugeot Citroen's electrification strategy is slightly conservative.
Moreover, in the eyes of some in the industry, the results of PSA electrification are still in the "oil-to-electricity" phase, because PSA chose to expand new electrification platforms and plug-in hybrid platforms on existing platforms instead of independent electrification. platform.
However, Peugeot Citroen is not the only manufacturer of electric vehicles with integrated platforms. BMW has previously stated that it will not change its established technological development route.
In the future, it will not follow the example of Mercedes-Benz and Audi to develop a special electric vehicle platform to compete with Tesla, an electric vehicle leader, and will still use "integrated" platforms to enhance its own competitiveness.
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