“Everybody’s struggling a little bit with EVs,” Sargent said.
“The manufacturers tend to load their EVs with a lot of technology, some of which [is] related to the fact that it’s an EV, some isn’t. … They’re trying to attract tech-minded people who want all of this stuff. That can be problematic. There’s more to go wrong.”
Sargent said automakers are in a difficult position because they want to get electric models to market quickly to meet investors’ expectations, yet getting them ready can take time. “It will be a challenge for them, like it is for everybody,” he said of Stellantis.
At the same time, electrification can remove some complexity in a vehicle and eliminate parts that often are a source of quality problems. Champine said being proactive and identifying potential problems before beginning production will be critical to EV launches.
“Whenever you’re launching something new, you have to be very conscious of what it’s going to take to be successful at launch,” Champine said.
“And I would say our efforts have been focused on launching better by proactive initiatives, looking at product design, robustness, understanding process risks early and addressing those risks before we start production, as well as really good reactive measures.”
