Stellantis’ 180° pivot away from most electrified vehicles will come at a hefty cost, as the automaker announces a $26 billion charge-off tied to the move.
The details: Stellantis $STLA ( ▲ 1.58% ) CEO Antonio Filosa’s statement on the news, which was released Friday, signals a far more tempered approach to electric vehicles going forward.
The charges reflect the cost of “overestimating” the adoption of EVs and the impact of previous “poor operational execution,” said Filosa.
Moving forward, Stellantis’ electrification strategy will move at “a pace that needs to be governed by demand rather than command,” he added.
Why it matters: Stellantis’ pivot is a clear signal that product mix, allocation, and incentives will likely move quickly toward what shoppers are actually buying, potentially easing near-term EV inventory pressure while raising the stakes on managing transitions, floorplan risk, and messaging as the automaker resets operations and its lineup.
OUTSMART THE CAR MARKET IN 5 MINUTES A WEEK
Get insights trusted by 55,000+ car dealers. Free, fast, and built for automotive leaders.
Zooming in: Filosa’s comments underscore the aggressive approach the company is taking across its business as part of a broader reset strategy.
The automaker’s $13 billion U.S. investment plan, announced last year, will add more than 5,000 jobs and new products at plants in Michigan, Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio through 2029.
Stellantis’ product strategy also includes cutting models that cannot achieve profitability at scale.
The company, which anticipates a net loss for 2025, also said it is selling its 49% stake in NextStar Energy, a joint battery manufacturing venture with LG Energy Solution.
Bigger picture: Stellantis’ $26 billion charge-off and broader shift away from electrification reflect a wider industry trend as major automakers confront slowing EV growth and changing policy.
General Motors $GM ( ▼ 3.64% ) has disclosed plans to write off about $6 billion in 2026 tied to EV pullbacks, on top of earlier charges.
Ford $F ( ▼ 1.27% ) has said it will take roughly $19.5 billion in EV-related writedowns through 2027 as it cancels several programs.
Volkswagen Group, Europe’s largest automaker, has booked around $6 billion in charges linked to scaled-back EV plans, including for Porsche.
Bottom line: This charge is part of a broader industry reset. And Stellantis is on the hook for more because of its initial aggressive push, which many dealers disagreed with at the time. However, the nature of U.S. politics has made product planning especially difficult for OEMs over the past decade and will likely continue to do so.
A quick word from our partner
ChatGPT can write emails, plan trips, even tell jokes…
But it can’t tell you which VINs are at risk of sitting too long, how your dealer performs against your competition, or how to improve your VDPs.
That’s where LotGPT comes in. It's the only chatbot built exclusively for car dealers. It knows your market, dealership and inventory.
Fueled by Lotlinx’s decades of VIN and Shopper data, plus your live inventory, Google Analytics and CRM, it delivers relevant answers and guidance to help you sell cars faster and more profitably.
LotGPT is free for dealers, but invite-only.
