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Stellantis said it was accelerating efforts to turn around North
America, including bringing dealer inventory levels to no more
than 300,000 vehicles by the end of the year, instead of the
first quarter of 2025 as previously planned.
The action is in the back of a decrease in shipments of 200,000
vehicles in the second half of this year compared with a year
earlier, twice as many as the company had forecast. The company
will offer higher incentives on 2024 and older models.
In its profit warning, Stellantis said it expected to finish the
year with a negative cash flow of 5 billion euros to 10 billion
euros, ($5.6 billion to 11.2 billion) instead of positive.
The carmaker, which was created in 2021 from the merger of PSA
Peugeot with Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, also dropped its
operating profit margin guidance to 5.5% to 7.0%, instead of
double digits.
The struggling maker of Jeep and Ram is looking for a new CEO to
succeed Carlos Taveres, who is under fire from U.S. dealers and
the United Auto Workers union after a dismal first-half
financial performance. The company has portrayed the search as a
normal leadership succession plan.
Stellantis is also under pressure in Italy, home to one of the
main shareholders, due to production cuts. Autoworkers announced
a one-day strike on Oct. 18.
The company reported that first-half net profits were down 48%
compared with the same period last year. First-half sales in the
United States were down nearly 16%, even though overall new
vehicle sales rose 2.4%.
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