Fiat parent Stellantis has concluded it can’t currently make affordable electric vehicles in Europe and is looking at lower-cost manufacturing in markets such as India, its chief executive told reporters.

If India, with its low-cost supplier base, is able to meet the company’s quality and cost targets by the end of 2023, it could open the door to exporting EVs to other markets, said Carlos Tavares, CEO of the group whose brands also include Peugeot and Chrysler.

“So far, Europe is unable to make affordable EVs. So the big opportunity for India would be to be able to sell EV compact cars at an affordable price, protecting profitability,” Tavares told reporters at a media roundtable in India late on Wednesday.

Stellantis is investing heavily in EVs and plans to produce dozens of electric models in the coming decade, but Tavares warned last month that affordable battery electric vehicles were between five and six years away.

On his first visit to India since taking over as Stellantis CEO he said the company is still working out a plan regarding EV exports from the country and had not yet taken any decisions.

Tavares’ possible bet on India comes after American car makers Ford and General Motors have exited the world’s fourth-largest car market, after failing to make money and break the dominance of Japan’s Suzuki Motor Corp and South Korea’s Hyundai Motor.