MEUDON, France — Stellantis plans to base seven models on a fifth, low-cost platform, an executive for the automaker said, as it prepares to compete against an expected ‘flood’ of cheap Chinese electric cars into Europe.
The group, created in 2021 through the merger of PSA Group and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, has said production of all its 14 brands would converge over time onto four platforms – Small, Medium, Large and Frame.
However the new Citroen e-C3 that Stellantis revealed on Tuesday is based on the so-called “Smart Car” platform, derived from PSA’s CMP platform, to help the automaker sell affordable EV cars and face increasing offers of cheap Chinese-built EVs, including Renault’s Dacia Spring.
Presenting the e-C3, costing as little as 23,300 euros ($24,640), Stellantis head for the Smart Car platform Renaud Tourte said “around” seven new cars in the future should be based on it, which is mainly dedicated to EVs but can also be used to produce internal combustion engine versions.