MILAN (Reuters) - Stellantis on Wednesday unveiled its new 'STLA Medium' vehicle platform, the first of four new electric-centric bases that will underpin all future models made by the world's fourth largest carmaker by sales.
Stellantis, formed at the beginning of 2021 through the merger of Fiat Chrysler and Peugeot (OTC:PUGOY) maker PSA, sold around 6 million vehicles last year.
It has plans to move all its future products onto four new BEV platforms, STLA Small, Medium, Large and Frame, starting with STLA Medium from Europe this year.
"STLA Medium is intended to be manufactured in many countries: France, Italy, Germany and then in North America in different locations," CEO Carlos Tavares said, adding further locations could added at later stage.
The group said on Wednesday all its new platforms were designed with provisions for future battery chemistries, including nickel- and cobalt-free and solid-state batteries.
"This enables Stellantis brands to tailor vehicle capabilities for the ideal balance of cost and performance," it said.
The STLA Medium platform will support several propulsion configurations; in full electric configuration it will feature a standard range of over 500 kilometres, which can be raised to up to 700 kilometres with a 'performance pack'.
Battery charge from 20% to 80% will take 27 minutes, Stellantis said.
"BEV is the focus of the design of this platform," Tavares said.
Stellantis said it currently offered 26 models in the market segments which will be served by the STLA Medium platform.
Aimed at the mid-sized cars, the STLA Medium platform will be the base for up to two million Stellantis vehicles a year, built in several plants across the world, the Italian-French group said in a statement.
Stellantis, whose brands also include Jeep, Ram, Alfa Romeo, Citroen and Opel, has plans for 100% of its European passenger car sales and 50% of its U.S. passenger car and light-duty truck sales to be battery EVs by 2030.