The wide variety of brands within Stellantis, while initially seen as a strength, is slowly becoming one of the main challenges for the automotive group led by CEO Carlos Tavares. Internal competition between different brands is undermining the company’s profitability, which finds itself lately on the brink of a crisis, as evidenced by frequent production suspensions. Stellantis’ original idea was to create common platforms for its 15 brands, meaning using a shared base to reduce production costs. However, this approach is not sufficient to avoid the additional costs associated with customizing vehicles for each individual brand.
The large number of brands in Stellantis could transform from a strength into a problem
Each brand must maintain its own identity, which implies creating unique and distinctive elements, even if the cars share the same platform. For example, the Peugeot 208 is also produced as an Opel or Lancia, but each version requires specific body modifications, which incur additional costs. Furthermore, each brand employs its own team that handles the design, development, and specific features of individual models, further increasing operational costs.
Peugeot and Opel are in strong competition in Europe, trying to attract customers in the compact car segment, a highly competitive market with reduced margins. In the North American market, Jeep, Dodge, and Ram compete to win over customers looking for SUVs and trucks, segments where expectations are similar, with a strong demand for robustness and performance. In the premium and luxury sector, brands like DS Automobiles, Alfa Romeo, and Maserati focus on more demanding customers, offering high-end models that emphasize design, superior performance, and advanced technologies.
Now Leapmotor, a Chinese brand in which Stellantis has invested $1.5 billion, has emerged as a potential competitor to Stellantis’ historic brands, particularly in the electric sector. With its competitive pricing for electric vehicles, Leapmotor could put pressure on more traditional brands like Citroën, Fiat, and Peugeot, which are trying to adapt to the electric transition. Citroën, in particular, is facing difficulties related to its brand identity, with some internal challenges regarding the coherence of its offering and market competitiveness.
Contrary to what one might think, having multiple brands under the same roof doesn’t solve the internal competition problem but rather complicates it further. Beyond external competition, there is also internal competition that develops within each national market.
In theory, Stellantis brands were supposed to have 10 years to develop and find their own path. However, as time passes, it seems increasingly unlikely that the group can afford to wait that long. The next CEO, who will replace Carlos Tavares at the beginning of 2026, might be forced to make drastic decisions much sooner than expected. Managing 15 brands represents a significant financial challenge, and the company has neither the economic resources nor unlimited time to sustain such a complex structure. To reduce costs while maintaining the brands, it’s likely that vehicles will become increasingly similar to each other in the future, to the point where there will no longer be a need to maintain distinct brands like Opel or Peugeot.