Stellantis plunges on $27 billion bill for EV pullback

Stellantis announced $27 billion of charges on ‌Friday as it scales back its electric-vehicle ambitions, hammering its shares as automakers pay the price of misjudging the switch to cleaner driving.
The move is the biggest in a series of writedowns, including at Ford and General Motors, as many Western automakers pull back from battery-powered models in response to Trump administration policies and weaker-than-expected demand.
Stellantis' Milan-listed shares slumped as much as 25 per cent to their lowest since the group was created in 2021 through the merger of Fiat Chrysler and Peugeot maker PSA. The drop means the writedown is now larger than the company's market value.
'The charges announced today ​largely reflect the cost of overestimating the pace of the energy transition that distanced us from many car buyers' real-world needs, means and desires', CEO ‌Antonio Filosa said in a statement.
'The reset we have announced today is part of the decisive process we started in 2025, to once again make our customers and their preferences our guiding star'.
Alongside tariffs, slower demand in top market China and cheap competition from Chinese manufacturers, legacy automakers are having to grapple with a slower-than-expected take-up of EVs, particularly in the US where President ‌Donald Trump has rolled back subsidies and dismissed green technologies.
Chinese EV giant BYD posted ‍weak January sales, hitting its shares and ‌local peers, while Japan's Toyota — which has fared better than most thanks to a contrarian bet on hybrids — named a ‍new CEO on Friday.
Fabio Caldato, portfolio manager at AcomeA SGR, which owns Stellantis shares, said that higher-than-expected charges had become more likely after hefty impairments by GM and Ford in recent months.
'Further encouraging data is needed to restore full investor confidence in ⁠Stellantis, also because we are not seeing strong signs of recovery in the automotive semiconductor cycle, which could limit the group's sales recovery potential', he said.
The charges, booked in results for the second half of 2025, mainly relate to re-aligning models with customer preferences and new emission rules in the US, 'reflecting significantly reduced expectations for EV products', Stellantis said.
They also reflect reductions to the group's EV supply chain, revised estimates for contractual warranty provisions due to poor product quality and previously announced job cuts in Europe.
The writedowns include about ⁠€6.5 billion in cash payments expected to be spread over four years from 2026.
'Whilst an impairment was very much expected, the magnitude and larger cash ⁠out component at €6.5 billion, albeit spread over 4 years to suppliers is a key negative', Citi analysts said in a note.
Filosa began ⁠scaling back the ‍Fiat ‌to Jeep maker's EV ambitions last year after taking over from Carlos Tavares, whose aggressive push into electrification contributed to a prolonged sales decline in Europe and in the group's former profit powerhouse, the North American market.