Investors were surprised by the cost of Stellantis’s EV reset, and not in a good way.
Shares of Stellantis (STLA 24.69%), the global automotive giant that owns former Chrysler brands like Jeep and Ram, fell sharply on Friday after the company announced massive write-offs amid lower-than-expected demand for electric vehicles.
As of 1:15 p.m. ET, Stellantis’s U.S.-traded shares were down about 24.5% from Thursday’s closing price.
Over $26 million to unwind an aggressive EV plan
Stellantis announced a whopping 22.2 billion euros ($26.5 billion) of charges before the U.S. markets opened on Friday. Most are related to downsizing its ambitious EV plans; some address overall quality issues.
The charges include:
- 14.7 billion euros related to product-plan changes. That includes write-offs for recent models that aren’t selling as well as expected, charges for the work put into future products that have now been cancelled, and payments to suppliers that had geared up to make parts for models that now won’t be made.
- 2.1 billion euros related to downsizing the company’s plans for an EV supply chain, mostly related to planned investments in battery manufacturing.
- 5.4 billion euros in “other charges” including an increase in the amount the company sets aside for warranty work — an acknowledgment that recent quality-improvement efforts haven’t delivered results.
Stellantis has cancelled this planned battery-electric version of its full-size Ram pickup truck. Instead, you can once again order a Ram 1500 with the big Hemi V-8, which had been discontinued. Image source: Stellantis.
Several rivals, including Ford Motor Company (NYSE: F) and General Motors (NYSE: GM), have announced similar EV resets amid flagging demand in the U.S. and Europe. But none have been as costly as Stellantis’s changes, and neither Ford nor GM investors saw anything like the hit Stellantis’s stock took on Friday.
Stellantis now expects an operating loss for the second half of 2025
Stellantis, which reports earnings semi-annually, also said that it now expects to post a loss of 1.2 billion to 1.5 billion euros on an adjusted operating basis for the second half of 2025. The company has suspended its dividend payments for the time being.
Stellantis will report its complete second-half and full-year 2025 results on Feb. 26.
John Rosevear has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends General Motors and Stellantis. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
