Towards the death of the internal combustion engine. As the FCA-Psa agreement approaches the electric car

In the car market the news of the week, and perhaps of the year, is the merger between Fca and Psa. The new group that is about to be born would become the fourth automotive group for annual sales: 8.7 billion vehicles, 170 billion euros of revenues and about 400 thousand employees. In addition to a significant range of brands: Fiat and Peugeot first of all, but also Chrysler, Alfa Romeo, Lancia, Citroen and Opel.

The press release issued to explain the details of the agreement states that the group's objectives go in three directions: electric mobility, development of the automaton guide and digital connectivity.

Digital connectivity and autonomous driving are not immediate innovations. Indeed, they are already underway. The cars on the market can not only connect with any device we have in our pocket but also implement some autonomous driving functions, such as theadaptive cruise control or the park assist. The real and clear challenge is in the electric car.

How heavy is the car market
electric in Italy

Over 1200 vehicles. On 19 October, next to the Fico, the theme park built by Eataly, hundreds of cars arrived, all in silence. This is where the rally was held to celebrate the nine years of Tesla club Italy, the association that brings together owners of the car produced in the factories of Elon Musk.

The organizers were expecting a few hundred fans, they would never have thought they were facing such a large gathering. A sign, of course, of how much the electric car is spreading in Italy. A signal, because talking about the trend is still early.

By enlarging the view beyond this gathering, the size of the sector is better perceived. In September 2019, 1,253 electric cars were sold, almost three times the previous year's figure: in the same month of 2018, in fact, the number of vehicles sold did not reach 500.

A growth of around 250% which, however, is not enough to reach even 1% of the total market share. In fact, since last year the weight of electric cars in the automobile market has gone from 0.4% to 0.9%. A lower figure than the global one, where instead the market share of electric cars exceeds, even if slightly, 3%.

The batteries that condition the entire car

Create a car
Electric is not like inserting a new engine in an old model.
The whole structure must be rethought largely. The problem
of electric vehicles, currently, is the estate of the
battery.

It is no coincidence that during the service of the column Vroom of Rainews24 dedicated to the gathering of the Tesla, one of the questions most asked by the journalist was: "How many times have you stopped to load the car?" According to data provided by the company, Tesla's Model S, a leading example of the catalog, should have a range of 390 km.

For
try to increase the autonomy of the car, the solution more
widespread is to use lithium ion batteries e
distribute them along the bodywork. Make these cells more powerful,
to make their distribution more efficient and, perhaps,
make them even easier to dispose of.

In July 2020 it should arrive
the Fiat 500 E, where the E is just for electric. A model
revolutionary for the Turin home that launched almost 60 years ago
on the market the first 500 Topolino.

The cost of this experimentation is not easy to digest: investments of 700 million euros, 80 thousand units per year and 1200 people at work. Figures that, in order to guarantee a price accessible to customers, only a few large groups are able to support.

And yet that of electricity could be the right path to take, especially in Europe, where only between 2019 and 2020 the average carbon dioxide emission for vehicles was lowered by 20%.

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