Stellantis CEO says automaker is stronger together as shares tumble amid $26 billion charge

“Stellantis is a very strong global company that prides itself on having very deep regional groups,” Filosa, an Italian native, told reporters on a media call. “It makes sense to stay together. We want to stay together for many years to come.”

His comments come hours after the company announced 22 billion euros ($26 billion) in costs due to a corporate restructuring that includes pulling back on electrification plans and reintroducing V8 engines to U.S. models.

Filosa described the actions as a “major strategic reset of our business model, with the sole intention of putting our customer preferences back at the center of what we do globally and in every region.” He said the “mission is to grow” after a notable decline in market share in recent years.

In Milan, the company’s Italian shares fell 25% on Friday. On Wall Street, the transatlantic company is listed in New York stock fell by 23%.

Filosa on Friday did not specifically rule out the possibility of a regional refocus or downsizing of the company’s extensive portfolio of fourteen car brands, including US brands Jeep, Ram and Chrysler, as well as Italian nameplates Fiat and Alfa Romeo, which have not performed well domestically.

“We really want to manage our brands in the sense that we provide them with the products and technology that our customers, who are now at the center of our strategic reset, will tell us they want and need,” he said. “This is our core mission.”

Filosa said additional information about the company’s future plans will come at its May 21 investor day.

Friday’s announcement comes days after Stellantis executives met with the company’s U.S. franchise dealers at their annual National Automobile Dealers Association conference with a message that the automaker planned to increase sales of its U.S. brand lineup, according to two dealers who attended the meeting.

The majority of the charges announced Friday – 14.7 billion euros – are related to tailoring product plans to consumer preferences and new emissions rules in the US.

Other costs include €2.1 billion for restructuring the company’s EV supply chain, €4.1 billion for warranty costs and €1.3 billion for restructuring its European operations.

The automaker also canceled its 2026 dividend and issued a 5 billion euro non-convertible hybrid bond.

The charges related to electric vehicles follow General engines And Ford engine announcing billions of dollars in similar spending due to pullbacks in all-electric vehicle plans.

Shares of Ford and GM weren’t hit as hard as Stellantis, which also issued lower-than-expected estimates amid years of strategic problems with the company.

Stellantis said it expects a net loss through 2025. For 2026, the auto giant is targeting a mid-single-digit percentage increase in net revenue and a low-single-digit percentage increase in adjusted operating income margin.

“While charges were expected, the amount is above F ($19.5 billion) and GM ($7.6 billion). Expect the shares to trade significantly lower today as a result. We continue to believe STLAM is a show-me story. In the US, the company has lost significant market share due to high prices and a perceived lack of product investment,” RBC Capital Markets analyst Tom Narayan said in an investor note on Friday.

Filosa paid more attention to the mistakes of former business leaders on Friday than he has since he succeeded Carlos Tavares as CEO in June.

Tavares, who was ousted in December 2024 over disagreements with Stellantis’ board, is reported to have said in a book last year that the group’s French, Italian and US operations may have to be split under pressure from key stakeholders.

It’s been just over five years since Stellantis was founded on January 16, 2021, through a $52 billion combination of Italian-American automaker Fiat Chrysler and France-based Groupe PSA.

The merger created the fourth-largest automaker by volume, but the company has run into significant trouble in recent years due to its investments in all-electric vehicles, focus on profits over market share and cost-cutting efforts at the expense of products.

Stellantis global sales under Tavares fell 12.3%, from 6.5 million in 2021 – the year the company was founded – to 5.7 million in 2024. That included a collapse of about 27% in the US over that period to 1.3 million vehicles sold. The automaker fell from fourth place in U.S. sales to sixth place, dropping from an 11.6% market share to 8% during that period.

According to S&P Global Mobility, Stellantis’ global market share fell from 8.1% in 2020 to an estimated 6.1% last year.

Correction: Stellantis’ global market share fell from 8.1% in 2020 to an estimated 6.1% last year, according to S&P Global Mobility. In an earlier version the percentage was displayed incorrectly.