Stellantis might sell some of its struggling car brands — but not yet
Stellantis (STLA)’ extensive portfolio of brands, from Maserati to Chrysler, is safe from the chopping block until at least 2026, according to CEO Carlos Tavares.
“We will review each brand’s performance at about two-thirds of the way through the Dare Forward 2030 plan, so you could expect decisions in two to three years,” Tavares told a group of reporters at the Paris Motor Show 2024 on Monday, Automotive News reports.
Analysts have hypothesized that Maserati, Lancia, or DS may be targets for a sale, given their smaller profile — although Stellantis has said as recently as July that it doesn’t currently have plans to sell any of its 14 brands.
After Road & Track magazine, citing comments from then-CFO Natalie Knight, reported Maserati may be sold off, Stellantis clarified it had an “unwavering commitment” to Maserati’s future. The company has already fielded at least one offer for one of its brands; the great-grandson of the man who founded Chrysler recently approached management with a bid to buy it back.
Each Stellantis brand went into 2021 with a 10-year product plan — of which the first five years were fully financed, according to Tavares.
“So far, we delivered on our commitments, we already launched the STLA Medium platform which debuted with the Peugeot 3008, and when needed, we rescheduled some product launches due to changing conditions, but we did not cancel any,” he said.
Tavares also reiterated his past remarks on Monday that Maserati’s issues are due to marketing problems, not poor technology or products. The Italian brand sold just 6,500 units from January to June, a big decline from 15,300 in 2023, and the company took an adjusted operating loss of £82 million ($89.4 million).
But it’s possible that Tavares won’t have much of a say in Maserati’s future, given that the timeline lines up with his expected departure from Stellantis. The company last week said Tavares would retire after his contract expires in early 2026. Board of directors chair John Elkann, a major shareholder, will lead the search for Tavares’ successor, with an announcement expected late next year.
Recently, Stellantis also announced a series of executive changes, which included a new CEO for Jeep, Maserati, and Alfa Romeo, as well as some regional changes. Former CFO Knight will be succeeded by Doug Ostermann, who was previously the company’s chief operating officer in China.
In September, the automaker slashed its full-year guidance for adjusted operating income and expected industrial free cash flow, and it pushed up its timeline to lower U.S. dealer inventory to about 330,000 units. Sales in the U.S. dropped 20% last quarter to 205,294 deliveries, which followed a similar 21% year-over-year decline in the second quarter. The last time Stellantis had a quarterly sales increase was in the second quarter of 2023.
By volume, sales are down at all but one of Stellantis’ brands compared with a year earlier. Dodge and Chrysler reported the biggest hits, with sales down 47% and 43%, respectively, while sales for Ram, Alfa Romeo, and Jeep were down by smaller margins. Fiat’s sales grew by 118% to 316 units.