Troubled carmaker Stellantis reported a 27% plunge in net revenues during the third quarter. Gaps in launching new products and inventory reduction actions led to a 20% drop in global shipments of new vehicles. The world’s fourth-largest carmaker, created by the 2021 merger of PSA Peugeot and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, had net revenues of 33 billion euros (nearly $36 billion) in the three-month period ending Sept.
30, down from 45 billion euros a year earlier. All regions except South America reported double-digit dips in revenues, with North America leading the decline with a 42% plunge to 12.4 billion euros. Europe revenues dropped 12% to 12.5 billion euros. Shipments decreased by 20% to 1.2 million vehicles in the third quarter from 1.5 million a year earlier. In the first nine months, shipments sank 13% to 4 million from 4. 6 million. The company is in the process of 20 new product launches globally this year. Stellantis’s new chief financial officer Doug Ostermann said the carmaker is ahead of schedule on reducing inventories in North America and aims to reach its targets by the end of November. The U.S. market share rose from 7% in July to 8% in September and is on track to hit 10% this month. He stated that normalizing inventory is crucial for the business to align and ensure a strong start to 2025. Ostermann, who was in charge of Stellantis’ business in China for the last 2 years, assumed the role of CFO this month as part of a management shakeup that included new heads of operations in North America and Europe. The moves came after the carmaker issued a profit warning for 2024, citing investments to turn around its U.S. operations amid a wider industry slump and increased Chinese competition. The maker of Jeep and Ram vehicles is facing the threat of a strike by the United Auto Workers union in North America and is under pressure from Italian lawmakers over steep production cuts in the home country of Stellantis brands Fiat, Maserati and Alfa Romeo.