The drop in sales for Stellantis has definitely decreased in the third quarter that ended a few days ago. Despite these negative statistics, however, there is also some good news for the automotive group. In fact, Stellantis has implemented a particularly aggressive strategy to quickly reduce inventories of manufactured cars. The results therefore have been generally mixed.
Decline in sales and increase in market share
For the U.S. market, the last three months of Stellantis saw a sharp drop in sales of 20 percent, relative to the same period last year. The total number of vehicles sold then, is around 305,294. But despite this sharp slowdown for the group, there was still an increase in the company’s market share. This figure increased from 7.2 percent in July to the 8 percent recorded in September, thanks to the significant reduction in inventories of the various U.S. brands. Overall inventory therefore decreased by about 50,000 units.
The positive performance of some of the brands
By taking as reference the brands that have been leading these numbers in America, we can deduce the following. The Jeep brand recorded a sales growth of 4 percent in comparison to the previous quarter. Result achieved thanks to the novelty of the Wrangler 4xe and Grand Cherokee 4xe plug-in hybrid versions, which are continuing to grow and dominate. As for Ram, on the other hand, increases in total and retail sales of 3 percent and 7 percent, respectively, were recorded. Highly appreciated was the heavy-duty commercial vehicle segment, which increased sales by 26 percent. Finally, we also find Fiat, which with the launch of the new all-electric 500e managed to increase sales for the brand by 118% over last year.
Future strategy for the automotive group
Stellantis to stimulate demand for the remaining stock vehicles had to adopt a very targeted strategy for the entire range. This business move, in combination with significant upgrades that have been made to the models, have led to positive results despite the overall situation being characterized by the negative symbol. In any case, the situation will be kept under control in order to continue on the positive trail just embarked upon.
In the meantime, Stellantis will continue to invest heavily in the electrification of the range, as has already happened with the American brands that have launched the new Jeep Wrangler 4xe and the Grand Cherokee 4xe models. The new 500e has also proven to be an excellent choice for the American market, providing consumers with a viable alternative to the historic old 500.
So to conclude, Stellantis’ third quarter of the current year was not all bad in the United States. General sales were down on the one hand. Nevertheless, on the other hand, the performances of some of its brands have been very positive, as well as the reduction of inventories, which is concretely improving the situation, sharply increasing the group’s market share. Accordingly, Stellantis’ guidelines at the moment remain precisely to proceed with the electrification of brands while reducing inventories.