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Stellantis Shipments Surge on Deliveries of Jeep, Ram Models
North American Shipments Rise 17% to 379,000 Vehicles
Stellantis NV’s global shipments jumped 12% in the first quarter, led by a surge in North American deliveries of refreshed Jeep and Ram models.
North American shipments to dealers and distributors, or directly to retail and fleet customers, rose 17% to 379,000 vehicles, the company said April 15 in a statement. Stellantis grew in all regions including in Europe, the latest evidence of a recovery triggered by the group’s strategy reset.
Stellantis shares gained as much as 4.6% in early trading April 15 in Milan. The stock has dropped by around a quarter this year, making it the worst performer in Europe’s Stoxx 600 Automobiles & Parts Index.
Stellantis Chairman John Elkann and CEO Antonio Filosa have been conducting a review of operations, the results of which will be presented at a capital markets day on May 21.
They’ve already rowed back on electric vehicle plans and cut prices to regain market share, and the group is offering more hybrid models to win back customers after steep declines in market share under former CEO Carlos Tavares.
Stellantis is also weighing deals with Chinese peers to potentially invest in its European operations, people familiar with the planning said last month.
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Stellantis earlier this year shocked markets with more than 22 billion euros ($26 billion) in writedowns and charges that deepened a stock-price slump.
As part of their turnaround bid, Elkann and Filosa, who took over in June, launched an effort to enhance quality, introduce more hybrids and repair ties with dealers — changes that have contributed to a recovery in volumes in both the U.S. and Europe.
Passenger car production rebounded in Italy in the first quarter thanks to demand for new models such as the hybrid Fiat 500 made at the Mirafiori plant in Turin, and a freshened Jeep Compass manufactured in Melfi in southern Italy, according to labor union FIM-CISL.
Filosa has been fine-tuning strategy in Europe as part of his review. Last week, the group said it would eliminate 650 engineering positions at its facility in Rüsselsheim, Germany, and unveiled a 120 million-euro investment in a painting workshop at its Sochaux plant in eastern France.
