Stellantis Targets ‘Charging Anxiety’ with New Venture

Stellantis, a global powerhouse in the auto industry, is set to soothe ‘charging anxiety’ with the launch of a new ‘Charging & Energy’ business unit. This fresh enterprise has ambitious plans to streamline electric vehicle usage and make the most of the burgeoning green mobility market.

The focal point of the unit is Free2move Charge, a comprehensive platform aiming to give customers access to over 500,000 charging points across Europe by year’s end. This move comes as a response to the electric vehicle (EV) industry’s insufficient charging network, a concern for EV drivers.

Interestingly, Stellantis is still considering whether to use Tesla‘s charging standard, a model already adopted by Ford and General Motors in North America. Ricardo Stamatti, the senior vice president of the new business unit, hinted at future discussions, stating, “We look forward to discussing more of that soon.”

Stellantis, whose portfolio includes Jeep, Ram, Peugeot, Fiat, and Opel, targets 100% of its European passenger car sales and half of its U.S. passenger car and light-duty truck sales to be EVs by 2030. “The margin on energy (used for charging points) itself is fairly rich,” Stamatti explained, foreseeing that charging will soon expand beyond energy to advertising, retail, and media consumption.

Free2move Charge will not only offer support for home charging facility installation but also grant access to public charging points in North America, Europe, and other yet-to-be-announced regions.

Stamatti confirmed that the initiative will involve significant investments and various key partners, including energy companies, retailers, hardware manufacturers, and utilities. More specifics about the project, including financial targets, are set to roll out throughout 2023.