Pedro Lazarino (Stellantis) criticises Brussels at Auto Talks at the ECAR Show

Hannah Whitfield • June 06, 2026 17:19

In the European automotive industry, uncertainty now feels like the only thing you can rely on. Rules are revised, deadlines are shifted, yet the pressure on manufacturers does not let up.

That is the view of Pedro Lazarino, Managing Director of Stellantis in Portugal, who took to the Auto Talks stage at the ECAR Show for a discussion that included pointed criticism of decisions made in Brussels.

A key theme in the conversation was the European Union’s recent decision to postpone the accounting of average CO₂ (carbon dioxide) emissions. Originally, the sector was expected to meet an average of 93.6 g/km of CO₂ by the end of this year. Under the updated rule, compliance will be assessed using a three-year cumulative average instead: from the start of 2025 through to the end of 2027.

A conversation about the automotive industry

Recorded live, this Auto Talks episode explored the biggest challenges currently facing the automotive sector: from emissions targets to market realities, from legislation to national tax specificities.

Lazarino set out a critical, well-supported perspective on the pace of electrification in Europe and the risks created when political decisions drift further away from industrial reality.

Electrification across Europe and the role of plug-in hybrids

The discussion also highlighted the different speeds of electrification across Europe, as well as the role of plug-in hybrids in the push for decarbonisation.

More recently, plug-in hybrids have seen the rules for type-approval of consumption and emissions changed. This shift was triggered by a European Commission report, published at the start of 2024, which concluded that plug-in hybrids produce 350% more CO₂ emissions in the “real world” than the values approved under the WLTP cycle.

Stellantis, industry instability and the case for EU tax harmonisation

Pedro Lazarino also covered the measures Stellantis is putting in place to navigate the sector’s current instability, and he pointed to the need for tax harmonisation among European Union countries.

There are, therefore, plenty of reasons to watch or listen to the latest Auto Talks-this new format launched by Razão Automóvel at the ECAR Show-available on the usual platforms: YouTube, Apple Podcasts and Spotify.