Stellantis bets on small affordable EVs for European comeback

By Giulio Piovaccari and Gilles Guillaume

MEUDON, France, Oct 11 (Reuters) - Stellantis heads into Paris Motor Show with a message it hopes customers, investors and dealers are ready to hear: after years of sliding market share and weak sales in Europe, the automaker is back in the fight.

At a Sunday gala event ahead of the show's opening, CEO Antonio Filosa unveiled six of the nine concept cars Stellantis is bringing to Paris alongside a range of production models, including affordable EVs set to compete with low-cost Chinese rivals.

The centrepiece is Citroen's revival of the iconic 2CV, a retro-styled concept previewing a European-made low-cost EV expected in 2028 and the first example of the group's plans for Europe's new "e-car" category.

International premieres will include the DS7, Fiat Grizzly, Lancia Gamma, Opel Corsa GSE and the B03 and D19 models of Stellantis' Chinese partner Leapmotor.

"This event brings our ... 2030 strategy to life," Filosa said. "It reflects the extraordinary effort of our teams and our commitment to shaping the future of mobility through iconic brands, compelling design and innovative technology."

The presentations showcase the carmaker's bid to give brands more distinct identities as the industry's increasing reliance on shared platforms and technologies leads to broad design uniformity.

"Each concept explores new ways to ... reinforce the unique identity of its brand," Stellantis design chief Gilles Vidal said.

The 2CV is probably Stellantis' "most interesting launch", said Pedro Pacheco, vice president of research at Gartner, offering an early test of whether European automakers can build affordable EVs without sacrificing quality, performance or safety.

"It will be the first example of what an e-car is going to be," Pacheco said.

With a price tag of around €15,000 ($16,800), e-cars are a new category of low-cost EVs aimed at reviving Europe's shrinking entry-level car market.

The timing of Stellantis' strong return to a major European auto show after several years of maintaining a low profile is critical.

Investors want evidence that Filosa's turnaround plan is working after two years of declining market share and profitability in the group's two key regions, North America and Europe.

In a business plan through 2030 unveiled in May, Filosa promised dozens of new models, cost cuts and deeper cooperation with Chinese partners including Leapmotor.

However, investors still need to be convinced that Stellantis is on the path to sustained recovery. Its shares fell to €3.81 this month, their lowest level since the group's formation in 2021.

Bernstein analysts, who cut the stock to "underperform" in August, said the world's fourth-largest automaker had yet to prove its turnaround was winning over buyers. They argued recent sales gains had been padded by higher deliveries to dealers to rebuild inventories rather than stronger consumer demand.

Felipe Munoz of Car Industry Analysis said Stellantis needed a more competitive lineup of electric models to counter the rapid expansion of Chinese automakers.

"They need to communicate they are still in the game," Munoz said. "Stellantis has been struggling ... but they are still relevant in Europe and they need to defend their position."

($1 = 0.8928 euros)

(Reporting by Giulio Piovaccari and Gilles Guillaume. Additional reporting by Nick Carey. Writing by Giulio Piovaccari. Editing by Mark Potter and Tomasz Janowski)