Stellantis Chief Executive Carlos Tavares said on Friday the current European Union carbon emission regulation is imposing 40% higher costs on the car-making industry at a time when customers are reluctant to buy expensive electric vehicles.

Tavares, who was speaking before an Italian parliamentary committee in Rome, however, said Stellantis was not asking for any changes in regulation, including the intermediate carbon targets the EU has set for next year.

"We are ready," he said. "We just demand stability in regulation".