The Big Miss on EVs Is Remaking Europe’s Auto Industry (1)

Volkswagen, Renaultand Stellantis are thinking the unthinkable, exploring tie-ups with sworn competitors to make cheaper electric vehicles and fend off existential threats.

As Chinese rivals and Tesla Inc. expose competitive weaknesses at Europe’s biggest mass-market carmakers, it’s become clear that a sense of urgency is growing and a business-as-usual approach is a losing option.

There’s a “perfect recognition that in the future, the companies which are not fit to face the Chinese competition will put themselves in trouble,” Carlos Tavares, chief executive officer of Stellantis NV — the company created from the 2021 merger of Italy’s Fiat ...