Peugeot, Ram parent posts A$4.1 billion loss, forecasts more tariff trouble
The automaker released unaudited financial and vehicle shipment numbers this week ahead of a call with investors at the end of the month.
The numbers include €3.3 billion ($5.9 billion) in charges relating to restructuring and cancelled model programs, including its recent axing of hydrogen fuel-cell development, investments in hybrid for Europe, and returning the Hemi V8 to the Ram pickup range.
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In a letter to employees seen by Reuters, CEO Antonio Filosa said 2025 would be 'a year of gradual and sustainable improvement'. He noted the first half of the year was 'tough', and warned there would be 'increasing external headwinds'.
According to the company, tariff uncertainty caused by President Trump cost the company around €300 million (A$530 million) in the first half.
Doug Ostermann, the automaker's chief financial officer, told analysts and Reuters tariffs are expected to cost the company between €1 and €1.5 billion (A$1.8 to A$2.7 billion) this year.
These figures show new CEO Antonio Filosa has a lot of work to do to right the French-Italian-American automaker. That said, front-loading as much of the bad news and numbers into this half will give the CEO more room to make changes and to paint any upswing in a more positive light.
Vehicle shipments — which are cars invoiced to dealers, importers and buyers — dropped 90,000 or 6.0 per cent compared to the same time last year.
The biggest fall occurred in North America where shipments dropped 109,000 units or 25 per cent to 322,000 vehicles. Stellantis said this was partially due to reduced manufacturing and imports due to tariff concerns, as well as lower fleet sales. It was keen to point out Jeep and Ram sales were up 13 per cent collectively.
In Europe shipments fell 50,000 vehicles or 6.0 per cent to 722,000, with the automaker citing 'product transition' as the reason. It notes that production is still ramping up of the Citroen C3, C3 Aircross, Fiat Grande Panda, and Opel Frontera, which are all based on the Smart Car platform.
Also, the Fiat 500 (above) has lost its Italian sales crown as production of the petrol-powered second-generation model has stopped due to the EU's cybersecurity legislation. Fiat has reworked the third-generation 500, launched as an EV-only model, to accept a mild hybrid drivetrain, but volume production won't begin until next year.
Strong growth elsewhere helped to mitigate the losses in Europe and North America. South America, where Stellantis is a market leader, was up 20 per cent to 260,000 cars thanks to demand in Brazil and Argentina. The Middle East and Africa was up 30 per cent to 125,000 units on the back of good numbers in Turkey.
Maserati, though, was down 7000 units or 22 per cent to just 2500 vehicle shipments. This will no doubt fuel more rumours about its potential sale.
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