Automakers strengthen together amid $26 billion reset

Detroit — Stellantis Chief Executive Officer Antonio Filosa said Friday that the company plans to move forward as one company, despite speculation that the brand could be sold or broken up after disappointing results.

“Stellantis is a very strong global company and we are very proud to have a very deep regional group,” Filosa, who is originally from Italy, told reporters on a conference call with the media. “It makes a lot of sense to be together. We hope to be together for many years to come.”

His comments came hours after the company announced 22 billion euros ($26 billion) in restructuring costs, including scrapping electrification plans and reintroducing V8 engines to U.S. models.

Filosa described the move as “an important strategic reset of our business model, solely aimed at putting customer preferences back at the heart of what we do globally and locally.” “The mission is to grow,” he said after a noticeable decline in market share in recent years.

The company’s Italian shares fell 25% on Friday in Milan. On Wall Street, New York-listed transatlantic companies stock It plunged 23%.

Mr. Filosa on Friday did not specifically rule out the possibility of regionally refocusing or downsizing the company’s vast portfolio of 14 car brands, including U.S. brands Jeep, Ram and Chrysler, as well as Italian names Fiat and Alfa Romeo, which have underperformed domestically.

“We want to be truly in control of our brand in the sense of providing our customers with the products and technologies they say they want and need, who are currently at the center of a strategic realignment,” he said. “This is our core mission.”

Filosa said additional information about the company’s future plans will be announced at its investor day on May 21.

Friday’s announcement came days after Stellantis executives met with the company’s U.S. franchise dealers at the National Automobile Dealers Association’s annual conference and delivered the message that the automaker plans to grow sales across its U.S. brand lineup, according to two dealers who attended the meeting.

The bulk of the bill announced on Friday (14.7 billion euros) relates to realigning product plans to align with consumer preferences and new U.S. emissions regulations.

Other costs include €2.1 billion for resizing the company’s EV supply chain, €4.1 billion for warranty costs and €1.3 billion for restructuring its European operations.

The company also canceled its 2026 dividend and issued a €5 billion non-convertible hybrid bond.

EV-related charges are as follows. general motors and ford motor The company announced that it would cost billions of dollars to cancel its all-electric vehicle program.

Ford and GM’s stock prices were not as affected as Stellantis, but the companies announced weaker-than-expected outlooks amid long-standing strategic problems.

Stellantis said it expects a net loss in 2025. In 2026, the auto giant is targeting mid-single-digit growth in net revenue and low-single-digit growth in adjusted operating margin.

“While the claims were expected, the amount exceeded those of Company F ($19.5 billion) and GM ($7.6 billion),” RBC Capital Markets analyst Tom Narayan said in an investor note Friday. “We continue to believe that STLAM is a show-me story. In the U.S., the company is losing significant market share due to its perceived high pricing and lack of product investment.”

Filosa on Friday, more than ever since he replaced Carlos Tavares as CEO in June, criticized mistakes by the company’s former leaders.

Mr Tavares, who was fired in December 2024 after disagreements with the Stellantis board, reportedly said in a book last year that the group’s French, Italian and US operations may need to be split up following pressure from major shareholders.

More than five years have passed since Stellantis was formed on January 16, 2021, through the $52 billion merger of Italian-American automaker Fiat Chrysler and French-based Groupe PSA.

The merger created the fourth-largest automaker by sales, but the company has faced significant challenges in recent years as it invests in all-electric vehicles, prioritizes profits over market share, and efforts to cut costs that hurt its products.

Under Tavares, Stellantis’ global sales fell 12.3% from 6.5 million units in 2021, the year the company was founded, to 5.7 million units in 2024. This includes a roughly 27% decline in sales in the U.S. to 1.3 million units during the same period. The automaker fell from fourth to sixth place in U.S. sales, and its market share fell from 11.6% to 8% during that time.

Stellantis’ global market share fell from 8.1% in 2020 to an estimated 6.1% last year, according to S&P Global Mobility.

Correction: According to S&P Global Mobility, Stellantis’ global market share fell from 8.1% in 2020 to an estimated 6.1% last year. Percentage features were incorrect in previous versions.