AD #4302 – Stellantis Unveils €60 Billion Growth Plan; Tesla Gets More FSD Approval; ChargePoint Expands Apartment Charging

This is Autoline Daily, the show dedicated to enthusiasts of the global automotive industry.

STELLANTIS UNVEILS €60 BILLION GROWTH PLAN
Stellantis is holding its big Investor Day today where it revealed a new 60 billion euro 5-year investment plan to “accelerate growth and profit.” Between now and 2030 it will launch 60 new models and 50 significant refreshes, including 29 BEVs, 15 PHEVs or EREVs, 24 hybrids and 39 ICE or mild hybrids. 70% of the planned brand and product investment will go to Pro One, Stellantis’ commercial division, Jeep, Ram, Peugeot and Fiat and they’ll be the first to get any new platforms, powertrains or technology. Chrysler, Dodge, Citroën, Opel and Alfa Romeo will be next in line for those new assets and will also see an increase in brand distinctiveness. DS and Lancia will now be managed by Citroën and FIAT and developed as specialty brands. And Maserati is adding two new E-segment vehicles. By the end of the decade Stellantis wants to see 70% component reuse and 50% of its global volume on three platforms, including a brand-new one it revealed, called STLA One. This is a multi-powertrain architecture that will span several vehicle segments, designed to support over 30 models and grow to more than 2 million units by 2035. It will also be the first to integrate new steer-by-wire, smart cockpit and software technology, which it’s partnering with Qualcomm to help develop. In North America Stellantis will introduce 11 all-new models, 7 under $40,000 and two under $30,000. It expects that to boost volume by 35%, capacity utilization to 80% and 25% revenue growth. The company is also partnering with Wayve to develop a hands-free driving system for highway and city streets that it’s targeting to launch in customer vehicles, first in North America in 2028. In Europe it’s going to cut capacity by over 800,000 units, which it expects to increase utilization to 80% and revenue growth of 15%. Those are the main highlights of the 6 pillars that make up Stellantis’ new 5-year plan, but there’s a lot more details and we’ll provide the links if you’d like to learn more.

NEW RAM RUMBLE BEE PACKS 777 HORSEPOWER
Speaking of Stellantis, Ram is trying to carve out a segment of the truck market that it’s played in before, but hasn’t been a part of for years. And that’s muscle trucks. While some of those previous examples are really cool, the company referred to them as ‘half steps,’ something that would only satisfy a small segment of the market. However, it hopes its new Rumble Bee lineup is the right strategy to find success with muscle trucks. All of them have a frame that was reduced by 13-inches, a quad cab, a short bed, a modified TRX wide-body kit and lowered suspension. The real difference is under the hood. Options include a 5.7L V8, a 6.4L 392 HEMI V8 or the 6.2-liter supercharged Hellcat V8 that makes 777 horsepower and will do 0-60 MPH in 3.4 seconds. The trucks will be built in Mexico and the 5.7L version goes on sale late this year, followed by the more powerful versions in the first half of 2027.

CHARGEPOINT EXPANDS EV CHARGING TO MULTIFAMILY HOMES
A large portion of EV owners charge at home, but people that live in apartments and condos largely don’t have access to home charging. So, ChargePoint wants to change that. It’s going to deploy 2,500 charging ports, mostly Level 2, at multifamily residences in the U.S. starting this year. To make the decision easier for landlords, ChargePoint is partnering with another company that will cover energy cost reimbursement, carbon credit revenue, ongoing maintenance, insurance, and repairs at no cost.

JAPANESE CAR EXPORTS TO MIDDLE EAST PLUMMET
Rising gas prices caused by the war in Iran continue to impact the auto industry. According to Japan’s Ministry of Finance, Japanese car exports to the Middle East plummeted more than 90% in both value and volume in April, compared to a year ago. The region is important to Japanese automakers. Last year, the Middle East accounted for about 14% of Japanese vehicle exports globally and it’s a profitable market with strong demand for high-margin models like the Toyota Land Cruiser.

CHINESE EV EXPORTS BOOM
But the war isn’t just disrupting Japanese car exports to the Middle East, shipments from Chinese automakers have also plunged, tumbling 60% in March. But unlike Japanese automakers, Chinese companies have been able to offset that drop by increasing exports of EVs to other global markets. According to the China Passenger Car Association, EV shipments hit 340,000 units in March, up 55% from a year ago and overall China car exports increased 39%, to 790,000 vehicles. Chinese automakers are on track to export more than 8 million passenger vehicles this year, up from 6 million in 2025.

HIGH GAS PRICES SPARK EUROPEAN EV SURGE
And a lot of those Chinese EVs are being exported to Europe, which has seen a big spike in EV sales since the war in Iran started. According to research group New Automotive and industry group E-Mobility Europe, registrations of new EVs were up ​34% in April compared to last year. The data covers 16 markets that account for more than 80% of Europe. Online retailers have seen a big spike in searches for new and used EVs, especially for Chinese automakers. German online marketplace Carwow says searches for BYD on its website surged 25,000% in the first quarter, while those for Leapmotor increased 436% and Xpeng rose 153%.

           

LITHUANIA APPROVES TESLA FULL SELF-DRIVING TECH
Tesla received approval for FSD in its second European market. The EV maker revealed that it launched its advanced driver assistance system in Lithuania. The Netherlands first approved the feature last month. Its vehicle authority, known as the RDW, is seeking FSD acceptance across the European Union and member countries can recognize the Dutch approval, allowing it to be deployed faster. Yesterday, Greece’s transport ministry said it has an upcoming bill for the same type of approval as the Netherlands. And a region of Belgium is testing FSD on its roads. But some EU members are skeptical of the system. Earlier this month, regulators in Sweden, Finland, Denmark ​and Norway raised concerns about FSD’s tendency to speed, whether it’s safe in icy conditions and the driver’s ability to bypass features designed to prevent phone use.

SPACEX AND xAI BUY $890 MILLION OF EVs AND BATTERIES FROM TESLA
And speaking of Tesla, it’s generating a lot of cash from Elon Musk’s other companies. Last month Bloomberg reported that SpaceX and xAI purchased more than $100 million worth of Cybertrucks last year. But according to a new regulatory filing, the sum was much bigger over the last few years. Tesla has generated $890 million in revenue from selling Cybertrucks and batteries to SpaceX and xAI since 2023. The majority of the purchases, about $700 million, was xAI acquiring Tesla’s Megapack battery storage system. While the purchases have continued this year, it’s been at a much lower rate.

We’ve got a great Autoline After Hours coming up today. General Michelle Link, a commanding general in the US Army Reserves and who works on combat platform acquisition, will be our guest. She’ll be talking about how the Army wants to be working more with the auto industry. And we’ll have Mathew Vachaparampil the CEO of Caresoft talking about what legacy automakers and suppliers need to do to get up to China Speed. Lindsay Brooke will also be with us, and we invite you to join in when it all goes live at 3 pm eastern time today.

But that wraps up today’s report, thanks for watching and have a great day.