To do that, Jones said Stellantis will need the help of its suppliers. The automaker expects to have 40 percent of green materials in its vehicles by 2030, up from 15 percent today.
“This needs a proactive approach,” she said. “We need suppliers prepared to challenge us on our thinking but also to take responsibility for delivering those mandatory components that we need for remanufacturing in other areas. That’s a key consideration for us now.”
Stellantis counts 11 suppliers in 18 locations in North America in its circular economy unit, providing the company with mechanical parts such as alternators and starters, valve bodies and turbo chargers. The suppliers produce 2,500 unique part numbers supporting 26 product lines, Jones said.
The company wants to grow that footprint significantly in the coming years, though Jones did not estimate how many suppliers Stellantis will end up with for its circular economy business.
But she said Stellantis has a need for components, including headlamps, taillamps, future variants of transmissions and long block engines, rear-drive modules, rear axles, steering columns and power inverters.
The automaker is looking at new ways to engage with suppliers in order to stay in the loop on innovative products before it puts out a traditional request for quote, or RFQ, on a needed component.
“What typically happens is an RFQ goes out, and then suppliers come to us,” Jones said. “What we’re trying to do is be aware of suppliers and [have] suppliers come to us before we put an RFQ package out, because there may be opportunities that we haven’t considered.”
