Automaker stronger together amid $26 billion reset

DETROIT — Stellantis CEO Antonio Velosa said on Friday that the automaker plans to move forward as one company amid speculation that it would be better to sell the brands or split after disappointing results.

“Stellantis is a very strong global company and very proud of having very deep regional groups,” Velosa, an Italian national, told reporters during a media call. “It makes sense for us to stay together. We want to stay together for many years to come.”

His comments come hours after the company announced a €22 billion ($26 billion) charge from a business restructuring that includes rolling back electrification plans and reintroducing V8 engines to U.S. models.

Velosa described these actions as “an important strategic reset of our business model, with the sole aim of putting our customers’ preferences back at the center of what we do globally and in every region.” “The mission is to grow” after a notable decline in market share in recent years, he said.

Stellantis stock fell more than 20% in the Milan and New York markets.

Velosa on Friday did not specifically rule out the possibility of refocusing regionally or reducing the company’s extensive portfolio of 14 auto brands, which includes the American brands Jeep, Ram and Chrysler, as well as the Italian brands Fiat and Alfa Romeo, which have not performed well domestically.

“We want to really manage our brands, meaning offer them the products and technology that our customers, who are now at the center of our strategic reset, will tell us they want and need,” he said. “This is our primary mission.”

Additional information about the company’s plans moving forward will come at its investor day on May 21, Velosa said.

Friday’s announcement comes days after Stellantis executives met with U.S. franchise dealers at their annual National Automobile Dealers Association conference with the message that the automaker plans to increase sales across its U.S. portfolio of brands, according to two dealers who attended the meeting.

The majority of the fees announced on Friday – 14.7 billion euros – relate to realigning product plans with consumer preferences and new emissions regulations in the United States.

Other charges include €2.1 billion in resizing the company’s electric vehicle supply chain, €4.1 billion in warranty costs, and €1.3 billion in restructuring of European operations.

The carmaker also canceled its 2026 dividend and issued €5 billion worth of non-convertible hybrid bonds.

Track fees related to electric vehicles GM and ford motor Announcing billions of dollars in similar expenses due to the rollback of plans for all-electric vehicles.

Shares of Ford and General Motors were not as affected as those of Stellantis, which also issued lower-than-expected guidance amid years of strategic problems with the company.

Stellantis said it expects a net loss for 2025. For 2026, the auto giant is targeting a mid-single-digit increase in net revenue and a low-single-digit rise in adjusted operating income margin.

“While the charges were expected, the amount comes in higher than F ($19.5 billion) and General Motors ($7.6 billion). We expect shares to trade significantly higher today as a result. We continue to believe STLAM is a show-stopping story. In the U.S., the company has lost significant market share due to higher prices and a perceived lack of investment in products,” RBC Capital Markets analyst Tom Narayan said in an investment note on Friday.

On Friday, Velosa spoke more about the mistakes made by the company’s previous leaders than he has since succeeding Carlos Tavares as CEO in June.

Tavares, who was ousted in December 2024 amid disagreements with the Stellantis board, reportedly said in a book last year that the group’s French, Italian and US operations may have to be split amid pressure from key stakeholders.

It has been just over five years since Stellantis was created through a $52 billion combination between Italian-American automaker Fiat Chrysler and France-based Groupe PSA on January 16, 2021.

The merger formed the fourth largest automaker in terms of volume, but the company has faced major problems in recent years amid its investments in fully electric cars, focus on profits over market share and efforts to reduce costs at the expense of products.

Global Stellantis sales under Tavares fell 12.3% from 6.5 million in 2021 — the year the company was founded — to 5.7 million in 2024. That included a roughly 27% collapse in the U.S. in that period to 1.3 million vehicles sold. The automaker fell from fourth place in U.S. sales to sixth place, falling from an 11.6% market share to 8% during that time frame.

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

Correction: Stellantis’ global market share fell from 8.1% in 2020 to an estimated 6.1% last year, according to S&P Global Mobility. An earlier version misstated the percentage.