Stellantis drives ahead in circles

A senior executive in the car industry in Europe has been setting out how the push for a circular economy is becoming increasing important in the sector.

Alison Jones, senior vp of circular economy at Stellantis is a keynote speaker at the International Automotive Recycling Congress in Antwerp in June. In an interview with event organisers ICM ahead of the conference, Jones explains how the business, based on the company’s 4R strategy of remanufacture, repair, reuse and recycle, which will contribute to the company’s overall ambition to reach its carbon net zero target by 2038.

‘Our circular economy business is growing and Stellantis is investing. For example in November 2023, we inaugurated our first Circular Economy Hub at our Mirafiori plant in Turin in Italy, an excellence centre aimed at industrialising the recovery and sustainable reuse of parts and materials.’

Fourth-largest group

Stellantis was formed in 2021 by the merger of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles and the French PSA group. In 2023 it was the world’s fourth-largest carmaker by sales, behind Toyota, Volkswagon and Hyundai.

‘Our target is to reach 40% of recycled and bio-sourced material content by 2030, Jones tells ICM. ‘To help us achieve this we are creating partnerships; in Europe last year we created a joint venture with the Galloo group, Sustainera Valorauto, to offer a comprehensive solution for the take-back and recycling of end-of-life vehicles.’

A disused part of the Mirafiori plant has been developed into an excellence centre using reconditioned equipment. ‘We have retrained our staff to make remanufactured parts because this business requires a different skill set from the traditional automotive manufacturing model.

Old material is sorted, dissambled and cleaned, and reconditioned spare parts for the remanufacturing of engines, gearboxes, and high-voltage EV batteries, as well as full vehicle reconditioning and dismantling are all engineered on site.

‘We are also extending the life of our products, designing for the future and staying one step ahead of legislative changes.’

Cradle-to-grave

Jones maintains that hers is a cradle-to-grave approach, working with the designers and engineers to support design for circular economy, gaining access to materials, sales and e-commerce, manufacturing, spare parts, the 4Rs, working with the dismantling network and customers.

‘Customer service and focus remains a top priority,’ Jones asserts. ‘The Circular Economy business unit has plans for growth and expansion and the target is to reach more than EUR 2 billion in revenues by 2030.’

The annual IARC takes place from 19-21 June >>