Stellantis CEO sees eventual US EV shift, says auto industry becoming more regional

PARIS, Oct 13 (Reuters) — The US auto market will eventually embrace electrification despite a slow uptake of electric vehicles so far, Stellantis CEO Antonio Filosa said on Tuesday, predicting the shift will happen more slowly than in other regions. Speaking at an event on the sidelines of the Paris motor show, Filosa said EVs accounted for 7% of US auto sales this year, unchanged from five years ago. "It has been a bubble driven by regulation. But then, when the administration has decided to deregulate, the consumers have been preferring other powertrains", he said. For Stellantis, which counts North America among its key markets, interest is growing in the US for range-extender technology in large pickups and SUVs. It is "not regulation driven, it's customer driven", Filosa said. Despite the slower pace of adoption, Filosa said he "truly" believed electrification would eventually take hold in the US. "The level of magnitude and the speed of transition is going to be lower for sure than other regions." He said Stellantis would be able to draw on lessons learned from Europe's EV rollout as demand develops in North America. Filosa also said the automotive sector was becoming less g