Electric Retrofit: Environmental Opportunity or Waste of Money?

Retrofit can be fun when restoring prestige wrecks, but many see it as a sustainable industrial solution.

Stellantis Pro One, in partnership with Qinomic, launches an electric Retrofit solution for light commercial vehicles (LCV), such as the Peugeot Expert or Citroën Jumpy. The goal: transform these thermal vehicles into electric models, extending their lifespan and reducing their environmental impact.

This initiative, led by Stellantis’s circular economy branch, SUSTAINera, is based on a “win-win” model. Qinomic purchases original components from Stellantis, while the automaker recovers used thermal parts to recycle them. On paper, the idea addresses sustainability and energy transition challenges. But behind these ambitions, several questions arise.

A well-directed investment?

The retrofit aims to be an economical solution for businesses and individuals. However, its high initial cost, combined with technical constraints specific to each model, limits its scope. Meanwhile, advances in new electric vehicles (EVs) make it possible to consider more efficient and accessible solutions in the medium term.

In this context, retrofit could divert resources that would be better invested in designing next-generation EVs, optimized from the outset to reduce costs and carbon footprint.

Although appealing, retrofit relies on prolonging an outdated thermal model. While the approach is commendable for reducing waste and maximizing resource use, it does not necessarily provide a sustainable answer to the challenges of electric mobility, where efficiency and accessibility remain top priorities.

In an industry undergoing rapid change, isn’t it more crucial to focus investments on disruptive solutions rather than transitional compromises? Although ambitious, retrofit may only be a marginal step, slowing down the deployment of real innovations needed for effective ecological transition.

The future will tell whether this initiative is a sustainable advance or a missed opportunity to go further, faster.

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