Stellantis is weighing whether to build electric vehicles in India for potential export to Europe to take advantage of the country's low labor costs, CEO Carlos Tavares said.
Tavares made the remarks to journalists on a visit to Chennai, where Stellantis has a technical center, Reuters reported.
"So far, Europe is unable to make affordable EVs, so the big opportunity for India would be to be able to sell EV compact cars at an affordable price," Tavares said Tuesday, according to Reuters. "This is what we are working out but it is not decided. This is what we are trying to do."
Stellantis is investing heavily in EVs and plans to produce dozens of electric models in the coming decade, but Tavares warned last month that affordable battery electric vehicles were between five and six years away.
Tavares' possible bet on India comes after Ford and GM have exited the world's fourth-largest car market, after failing to make money and break the dominance of Suzuki and Hyundai Motor there.
It also comes as Chinese EV makers are making inroads into Europe, aiming to win over buyers with more affordable cars having already stolen a march on most foreign rivals in China, the world's biggest market for EVs.
