Stellantis – the parent company of Jeep, Ram, Peugeot and Fiat, among others – reported a significant profit decrease in 2024, but it’s forecasting a recovery this year.
Earlier this week, Stellantis announced its net profit had dropped from €18.6 billion (A$31.1 billion) in 2023 to €5.5 billion (A$9.2 billion) in 2024, a decline of 70 per cent.
It’s the latest in what’s been a rough 12 months for the Netherlands-based conglomerate, whose CEO Carlos Tavares resigned with immediate effect in December 2024, having initially announced his plans to retire in 2026.
Despite this, Stellantis – currently without a permanent CEO – says it’s been making a number of key actions to turn its fortunes around.
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“In the 90 days since the leadership transition began, and while the process to select the next CEO within the first half of 2025 continues, the interim leadership team has taken quick, decisive actions to improve the company’s performance and profitability,” it said in a media statement.
It says it expects a “return to profitable growth and positive cash generation in 2025”.
According to Stellantis, it plans to launch 10 new models across its stable of over a dozen brands in 2025, almost all of which will be on new STLA family platforms. It says it’s prioritising launches of critical models in key segments.
Other measures to strengthen the company include rebuilding relationships with US and European dealers, improving communication with suppliers, and “making better use of available flexibilities under CO2 regulations”.
The US has traditionally been a key market for Jeep, Ram, Dodge and Chrysler even before the brands were pulled under the Stellantis umbrella at the start of 2021, however friction between the conglomerate and local dealers has been exacerbated by slowing sales.
Last year, Stellantis National Dealer Council chairman Kevin Farrish – who runs a Jeep, Ram, Dodge and Chrysler dealership in Virginia – sent an open letter to Mr Tavares, accusing the company of ignoring warnings which has led to “disaster” for all involved.
“For over two years now, the US Stellantis National Dealer Council has been sounding this alarm to your US executive team, warning them that the course you had set for Stellantis in the US was going to be a disaster in the long run,” said Mr Farrish in the letter.
“A disaster not just for us, but for everyone involved – and now, that disaster has arrived.
“In 2023, you engineered a record year of profitability for Stellantis, earning you the title of the highest-compensated automotive CEO. You personally earned a record amount of almost US$40 million (A$59.6 million) that year.
“Unfortunately, the engineering and structuring of that year have led us to exactly where we told your executives we would be today. The reckless short-term decision-making to secure record profits in 2023 has had devastating, yet entirely predictable, consequences in the US market.
“Those consequences include the rapid degradation of our iconic American brands – brands like Jeep, Dodge, Ram, and Chrysler that have over a century of history in America.
“The market share of your brands has been slashed nearly in half, Stellantis stock price is tumbling, plants are closing, layoffs are rampant, and key executives fleeing the company. Investor lawsuits, supplier lawsuits, strikes – the fallout is mounting. Your own distribution network, your dealer body, has been left in an anaemic and diminished state.”
While Stellantis’ US division pushed back on the dealer council chief’s letter, calling it a “personal attack”, Mr Tavares resigned only a handful of months later.
An action plan for the US, which included increased incentives on 2024 and older model year vehicles there to help clear the glut of stock, has helped, with Stellantis reporting its US inventories at the end of 2024 were 20 per cent lower year-on-year than 2023.
In Australia, Stellantis is only directly responsible for distributing Jeep, Fiat, Abarth and Alfa Romeo. It also distributes Leapmotor, a Chinese brand with which Stellantis has established a joint venture.
Ateco handles the distribution of Maserati and Ram, while Inchcape distributes Peugeot. It also previously handled Citroen, which departed Australia last year.
2024 was a rough year for Stellantis brands in Australia, with all of them posting double-digit declines. Here’s how they fared:
- Ram: 3852 vehicles, down 43.6 per cent
- Jeep: 2377 vehicles, down 48.7 per cent
- Peugeot: 1896 vehicles, down 24.6 per cent
- Alfa Romeo: 561 vehicles, down 21.6 per cent
- Fiat (including Abarth): 527 vehicles, down 30.2 per cent
- Maserati: 377 vehicles, down 40.9 per cent
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