Stellantis, along with other global EV makers, has been hit recently by slowing European demand.
The Franco-Italian automotive giant Stellantis has recently announced that the production of the fully electric model Fiat 500 will be halted for four weeks as European orders for the car remain low.
Stellantis also owns other brands such as Vauxhall, Maserati, Chrysler, Opel, Citroën and Peugeotamong others.
Currently, the Fiat 500 electric model is produced in Turinin the Mirafiori plant. Stellantis has also revealed that this plant will undergo a important transformationwhich will involve an investment of 100 million euros.
This investment is expected to go towards development of a hybrid version from the current all-electric Fiat 500 model, as well as higher-performance batteries. Production of the hybrid version of the car is expected to begin sometime next year and in 2026.
The drop in demand is affecting European manufacturers in particular
This move comes at a time when the European electric vehicle (EV) market continues to see a falling demandwhich particularly affects European manufacturers, who have had difficulties in keeping up with the Chinese.
This has led several European EV manufacturers, as well as battery manufacturers, to readjust its production and their expectations to account for the expected decline in demand in the coming months.
Tariffs imposed on Chinese manufacturers
However, this phenomenon is not limited only to European electric vehicle manufacturers, as different policies Global Green Incentives have also created obstacles for international electric vehicle manufacturers.
Recently, the EU also imposed duty higher for Chinese electric vehicle makers, due to concerns that Beijing unfairly subsidizes these producers, allowing them to sell their vehicles at much cheaper prices in the EU and undermining the market shares of European electric vehicle makers.
However, this has also led to a significant negative reactionwith concerns that this could make it harder for the EU to achieve its net-zero emissions targets. This is because the Chinese electric vehicles were the most popular among EU electric car owners, due to their relatively low cost. cheaper and they have more functions.
Now that Chinese electric vehicles are becoming more expensive in the EU, there are more concerns on electric vehicle ownership across the bloc as a result.
Stellantis announces disappointing financial results
Stellantis has recently announced some weaker results for the first half of 2024as its market share in North America continues to decline. It posted net revenues of €85 billion in the first half of the year, a 14% drop compared to the same period last year.
He net profit amounted to 5.6 billion euros, which represents a 48% drop compared to the first half of 2023. Adjusted operating profit was €8.5 billion, which is €5.7 billion less than in the first half of last year.
Regarding the company’s first half 2024 results, Carlos Tavares, CEO of Stellantis, said: “The performance of the company in the first half of 2024 has not met our expectationsreflecting both a challenging industry environment and our own operational challenges.”
“Although they were needed corrective measures and are being taken to address these issues, we have also initiated an exciting ‘‘product offensive’with no less than 20 new vehicles launched this year, which brings with it greater opportunities if we execute the operation well. We have a lot of work to do, especially in North America, to maximize our long-term potential,” adds Tavares.
Add Comment