Stellantis withdrawal puts the French hydrogen industry at risk
According to our information, Stellantis informed Symbio of this strategic reversal as early as May. Losing its main customer – the one for whom it had sized its hydrogen fuel cell "gigafactory" in Saint-Fons within the greater Lyon area, and one of its key stakeholders – the company had no choice but to initiate a conciliation procedure under the supervision of the commercial court to find a way out. Inaugurated in December 2023, the gigafactory produces hydrogen fuel cells for vans and hopes to supply those for heavy-duty trucks starting in 2027.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Euronews
an hour ago
- Euronews
Automotive giant Stellantis faces €1.5 billion hit from US tariffs
The second-biggest carmaker in Europe has forecast that US tariffs could cost it €1.5 billion this year as the EU has failed to avert auto levies imposed by the Trump administration. The producers of luxury Maserati cars as well as mid-range and affordable favourites such as Lancia, Peugeot and Fiat, said on Tuesday that net profits plummeted from €5.6bn in the same period last year. This was as it burned €3.3 billion in cash for the cancellation of a hydrogen fuel cell project. Changes in the fine regime for US carbon emission regulations and write-downs on platform investments also hit profits. US President Donald Trump's tariffs cost the company €300 million in the first six months of the year, Stellantis said. Losses like these could crank up political and labour pressure as the carmaker faces a heightened risk of plant shutdowns, delayed model launches and fights with unions as management scrambles to manage the cash gap. Carmakers are the main drivers of European industry. The sector pumps out roughly 7% of EU GDP according to the European Commission, supports around 14 million jobs across its supply chains and delivers one of the bloc's biggest export surpluses each year. Automakers also pour more than €70bn annually into engineering and technological innovation. A dip in their fortunes can therefore ripple into technology, steel, chemicals, logistics and the continent's drive for innovation. Stellantis said it expected net revenues to increase over the next six months compared with the first half, when they dropped 13% to €74.3bn. The carmaker also said cash flow would improve. Incoming CEO Antonio Filosa, who was confirmed in the role last month, said the new executive team would "continue to make the tough decisions needed to re-establish profitable growth and significantly improve results". 'My first weeks as CEO have reconfirmed my strong conviction that we will fix what's wrong with Stellantis,'' Filosa said in a statement.
France 24
10 hours ago
- France 24
Jeep owner Stellantis says has turned corner
The 15-brand group that also includes Peugeot, Citroen and Fiat, confirmed the preliminary announcement it made last week of a 2.3-billion-euro net loss in the first half of the year, as sales in North America continued to slump on an annual comparison. But Stellantis's new chief executive, Antonio Filosa, said the automaker is beginning to see "gradual improvement" in sales volumes and revenues on a sequential basis "despite intensifying external headwinds". Like some of its rivals, Stellantis had suspended financial guidance due to the uncertainty surrounding US tariffs and regulatory changes, but it said it now sees an increase in revenues in the second half of the year as well as operating profit margin in the low single digits. Under former chief executive Carlos Tavares the company had long targeted a double-digit margin, but it fell to just 0.7 percent. Stellantis also put a figure on the impact of the 25 percent US tariffs on auto imports: 1.5 billion euros for 2025 overall, of which 300 million euros was incurred in the first half of the year. Part of the turnaround was taking a 3.3-billion-euro charge, which Stellantis announced last week, which took into account the costs to adapting to new US regulations. Trump's massive tax and spending legislation, approved earlier this month, removed the penalties for not respecting the so-called CAFE fuel economy targets, meaning automakers can produce and sell more higher polluting cars in the United States. This is allowing Stellantis to bring back a number of models, including pickup trucks and muscle cars, that had been phased out because of their internal combustion engines to meet fuel efficiency targets and pollution limits. Stellantis said this and a "product wave" of 10 new models this year would support future performance. Company veteran Filosa took over as chief executive in June, half a year after Tavares left, in large part to haemorrhaging sales in North America. Filosa has shook up the company's management team and moved swiftly to jettison two billion euros of programmes considered as having poor prospects to quickly turn a profit, such as hydrogen fuel cell vehicles. Stellantis shares slumped 3.7 percent in trading on the Paris stock exchange, which was up 0.5 percent overall. Stellantis shares have lost around 37 percent since the start of the year and 70 percent from their peak early last year.
LeMonde
a day ago
- LeMonde
Initial tariff impacts painful for auto, textile and chemical industries
Beyond Donald Trump's sound and fury, there is the reality on the ground. Six months after the White House first announced new tariffs (the 10% levy on China, which came into force on February 4), the first tangible effects of the trade war launched by the United States have now become apparent. This year, the US protectionist machine has already collected $108 billion (€92.1 billion) from these tariffs, double the 2024 total. While the global macroeconomic effects have remained moderate so far, sector-specific impacts have become increasingly clear as companies publish their second-quarter results. The automotive industry, an archetypically globalized sector, has been the first to falter: General Motors reported $1.1 billion in losses linked to tariffs in just the first half of the year, Stellantis (which encompasses Peugeot, Citroën, Chrysler, Fiat and others) reported €300 million, and Volkswagen €1.3 billion. "If the current tariffs [25%], the burden would increase to several billion" for the whole year, said Oliver Blume, CEO of Volkswagen. The chemical industry has faced a similarly alarming situation: Five European companies have issued profit warnings, all stressing that US demand has decreased. The same is true for textiles: Puma has issued a profit warning, with its share price dropping more than 15% on Friday, July 25, while Nike announced that the tariffs had cost it $1 billion.
