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⚡This Week’s Big Charge
💡 Stellantis Blames $26.34 Billion Loss On EVs. The Reality Is More Complex
Five years after Fiat Chrysler and France’s PSA Group tied the knot, it’s hard to say what’s going right in the marriage.
Ostensibly, Stellantis—a conglomerate of 14 auto brands that includes Jeep, Ram, Dodge, Fiat, Alfa Romeo, Peugeot and Citroën—was formed to create an international automaking giant with unprecedented scale.
The vision was clear: by sharing global platforms and technology, and reducing redundant costs, they'd have the vast capital and know-how to lead the way on electric vehicles, software-driven mobility and autonomous cars.
This idea makes sense, just as it did when the late FCA CEO Sergio Marchionne pitched the 1.0 vision for such a company more than a decade ago. But with a $26 billion net loss in 2025, the company's first, it’s fair to say that scale alone isn’t some silver bullet for the auto industry’s problems.
Antonio Filosa, Stellantis’ CEO, was quick to blame that loss on “over-estimating the pace of the energy transition”—meaning, the costs of dialing back plans to build EVs now that current trends show they won’t be adopted as quickly as the industry projected. Filosa called this a “reset [of] our business around our customers’ freedom to choose."
Filosa added: “In the second half of the year, we began to see initial, positive signs of progress with the early results of our drive to improve quality, strong execution of the launches of our new product wave and a return to top-line growth. In 2026, our focus will be on continuing to close the execution gaps of the past, adding further momentum to our return to profitable growth.”
Let’s unpack what this means.
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🛻 What We Know About Stellantis’ Annual Loss:
Stellantis said two-thirds of that $26 billion charge is tied to canceled platforms and cars, including the Jeep Wrangler 4xe (previously America’s best-selling plug-in hybrid) and an upcoming all-electric Ram truck.
The party line is “giving customers the freedom to choose the products they want,” whether they're gas cars, hybrids, EVs or extended-range EVs.
Right now, Stellantis sells the Dodge Charger EV, Jeep Wagoneer S and Fiat 500e in North America; the first two have struggled with middling reviews and poor sales.
The company is stepping away from a planned EV supply chain buildup and bringing back the legendary Hemi V8, which should be profitable from the start.
More affordable new gas models should also be coming across the portfolio. Leading the way: the new Jeep Cherokee, now hybrid-only.
While much of this EV walkback seems to be North America-specific, sales are down in Europe as well. South America remains its most profitable region.
Stellantis called these moves “a decisive reset” that will lead to profitable growth again in 2026.
Maybe Stellantis had no choice but to hit reverse on EVs. After all, it has no $7,500 tax credit to boost U.S. sales, and it’s no longer under the regulatory gun to electrify here.
But while the move was the most costly item on the balance sheet, in reality, the uncomfortable truth is that Stellantis’ problems run deeper—and there’s no easy way to solve them.