The Stellantis group, which in Europe owns everything from Opel to Peugeot to Alfa Romeo, experienced a veritable collapse in sales during the third quarter.
The car group Stellantis, which is behind brands such as Jeep, Peugeot and Fiat, experienced a drop in sales of 27 percent in the third quarter.
According to the group itself, the decline was primarily due to challenges in the North American market, where the company is fighting against extremely large stocks of cars that have not yet been sold.
In Europe, the transition to new generations of cars contributed to the failing sales figures, as the launch of new models, including the Citroën C3 and C3 Aircross, has been delayed.
In the third quarter, Stellantis delivered far fewer cars than in the same period last year. The group points to "production gaps in several models in connection with a global product transition… and headwinds from a challenging European market environment."
This appears from a press release .
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In North America, revenue collapsed by 42 percent to DKK 95 billion due to falling sales and price cuts to clear out warehouses around.
"Although the results are below our potential, we are pleased with how we have significantly reduced our US inventories and are on track to achieve our year-end targets," said the group's new CFO, Doug Ostermann.
Investors apparently welcomed this announcement, as the Stellantis share rose by over three percent following the publication of the accounts.
A bright spot was the 14 percent increase in sales in Latin America, which was particularly driven forward by Brazil and Argentina.
Stellantis himself expects the business to be back on track as sales of the approximately 20 new choir uniforms launched this year increase. That includes the new Peugeot 3008, which Stellantis claims already has 75,000 orders.
In North America, a new wave of SUVs is expected to launch soon, including the Jeep Wagoneer S and a new electric version of the Ram 1500.
Stellantis, which has a portfolio of 15 car brands, has seen a turbulent period after years of record profits since its founding in 2021, when PSA (Peugeot-Citroen) and FCA (Fiat-Chrysler) merged.
In September, Stellantis downgraded its expectations for operating margins from a double-digit level to somewhere between 5.5 and 7 percent for 2024. This was due to a "deterioration" of the global auto market and increasing competition from China.
Since last month, Stellantis has announced the arrival of several new marketing managers in an attempt to boost sales. Longtime CEO Carlos Tavares will retire in 2026.
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