Focus on sustainability at day one of the Financial Times’ Future of the Car summit

Sustainability was the word of the moment on day one of the FT’s Future of the Car summit. The industry is reflecting on a period of tremendous change and disruption, with electric vehicles, alternative fuel sources and costs taking centre stage.

See a round-up of some of the key talks below:

Keynote: Ferrari

Starting off with the FT’s Peter Campbell interviewing Benedetto Vigna, Ferrari’s CEO, there was much focus on balancing the emotional connection to the luxury cars with the technological progress needed in today’s world.

The CEO said that Ferrari want to ‘act as a catalyst for change’, and that consistent innovation was at the heart of what they were doing. Ferrari will launch their first electric vehicle in 2025 and, Vigna said, he was driven by a focus on ‘people, planet and profit.’

However, the car manufacturer remains committed to ICE vehicles too. Vigna said that due to their position in the luxury market, they would continue to produce combustion engine and hybrid cars, as well as EVs. Despite the upcoming EU ban, he said he was confident that their ownership model and the emotion their cars create would ensure success.
Looking ahead, he also hinted that Ferrari is taking time to translate its trademark sound and feel into EV models. While the developing tech remained under wraps, Vigna was keen to impress that unlike competitors, battery-led Ferrari’s would still emit a ‘true’ sound, quipping that you should ‘never trust electronics.’

Panel: Innovating to improve affordability

In the context of a complicated economic environment, this panel set out to discuss affordability in the car market. Perhaps predictably, there was much focus on the high price of electric vehicles and how this would impact different parts of the market.

There was agreement that there is some confusion amongst consumers surrounding electric vehicles, and that many are unsure if now is the right time to buy. Some believe an education piece is needed to support EV sales growth, but price is undeniably prohibitive too.
OEMs are moving towards electric vehicles because of regulations, but it is better for CO2 emissions and the planet. By 2024, every Peugeot model will have an electric option, but uptake of all EVs is inconsistent across income brackets.

While there was discussion around Tesla’s cut prices as a possible route to making EVs more accessible, the panel were cautious, pointing out that fluctuating prices could have a detrimental impact on residual value. David Browne, CEO at Smart UK, said that price stability is in the customers’ best interest long term.

Linda Jackson, CEO Peugeot, said that financial offers were key. She started by saying that she prioritised ‘accessibility over affordability.’ For Peugeot, she said, a key challenge was trying to reduce costs while making sure cars were available to their customers. To combat this, they have a range of finance options, and are also looking at reducing logistics costs.

Stellantis are opening several gigafactories in Europe and North America to increase their control over supply chains for batteries and components, and decrease logistics costs by producing batteries nearer to where vehicles are built. The hope is that resulting savings can be passed onto consumers and the cost of EVs can be reduced.

Giacomo Carelli, CEO at CA Auto Bank, added that the increasing cost of ownership is provoking the advent of new mobility solutions, such as subscription, which is growing in Europe.

Panel line-up:

David Browne, CEO: Smart UK

Giacomo Carelli, CEO: CA Auto Bank

Linda Jackson, CEO: Peugot

Laurence Montenari, Vice President, Transportation and Mobility Industry: Dassault Systèmes

Panel: Beyond the EV – are alternative fuels the solution to Net-Zero?

Beyond electric vehicles, there is discussion around alternative fuels and the different paths that we can take to move towards net zero.

There was some emphasis on the long transition ahead as manufacturers move away from combustion engines. Andy Walz, President of American Products at Chevron, pointed out that it took 100 years to build the infrastructure we have today for liquid fuels. He said: “It’s going to be hard, and it might take longer than people think […] but we will get there.”
Generally, the panel were positive about EVs. Many thought it was a good solution. Bejamin Krieger, Secretary General at CLEPA, said that electrification is a good solution to bring down transport emissions, but we need to make sure this happens across the chain.

However, there was also an awareness that electrification isn’t perfect, and that there are other options available. Krieger said, the industry should keep an open mind about other options where needed in the market.

Lynn Calder, CEO at INEOS Automotive, critiqued EV focused regulation and encouraged caution around blocking whole technologies while the industry figures out what the best option is. She said that INEOS believe that there needs to be a ‘powertrain mix with no one solution’.

To this end, it was pointed out that the biggest advantage of renewable fuels is that they can use the existing infrastructure, unlike EVs and hydrogen. However, Asher Bennett, CEO at Tevva Hydrogen Electric Trucks, said that it was important to remember hydrogen needs additional safety considerations.

The panel spoke about the importance of ensuring cars remained fit for purpose and affordable to mass audiences. Walz said: “Costs really matter to people, particularly the people who can least afford it. Getting [pricing] right is going to be really important.”

Panel line-up:

Asher Bennett, CEO: Tevva Hydrogen Electric Trucks

Lynn Calder, CEO: INEOS Automotive

Benjamin Krieger, Secretary General: CLEPA

Andy Walz, President: Americas Products, Chevron

Keynote: McLaren

The FT’s Peter Campbell also interviewed Michael Leiters, CEO at McLaren. The luxury supercar maker announced that they were investing in a hybrid powertrain.

The CEO said that they believed diversity was the way forward. He said they would continue to work with ICE vehicles as a speciality, but the move towards hybrid was a positive one.
When asked about battery technology, Leiters said that although he thought it was the right choice long term, today’s technology is not yet mature enough for supercars. He said they were great for commuting, but not right for sports and other applications.

However, the luxury brand do have plans to use batteries in their models in the future. Leiters said he expected that technology would have developed by 2033, and that they would likely make an EV within the decade.