CEO makes promise

Automotive giant subdued after stock market bloodbath

Stellantis CEO Antonio Filosa(Bild: AFP/KroneKREATIV)

European-American auto giant Stellantis experienced a bloodbath on the stock market on Friday. The company's stock plummeted by a whopping 25 percent following a major strategic shift. CEO Antonio Filosa now wants to practice "modesty." 

The automotive industry is currently undergoing major upheaval. It is now clear that too many manufacturers committed to a purely electric strategy too early. This will now cost industry giant Stellantis billions. 

On Friday, Antonio Filosa, who has been CEO since May, finally broke with the plans of his predecessor Carlos Tavares to focus the conglomerate, which was formed from Fiat, Chrysler, Peugeot, Citroen, and other brands, entirely on electric cars. Stellantis is accepting write-downs of more than €22 billion for this. 

Stellantis CEO calls for "modesty"
This news sent shockwaves through the stock market. Panic selling ensued, and the share price fell by 25 percent within a few hours. It was a veritable bloodbath. Stellantis itself stated that the company had distanced itself "from the real world" in recent years.

After the stock market closed, Italian Filosa tried to spread optimism: "A new start requires courage, discipline, and determination." Stellantis had proven this despite the brutal loss in value. In the future, the group would "put our customers back at the center of our actions." The initial reactions—apart from the bloodbath on the stock market—would already justify the move.

However, the Naples native also admits: "The costs of this change are certainly considerable." Now, he says, a certain humility must return: "With modesty, a new focus, and our customers as our guiding star, we will continue to build on this positive new momentum."

Stellantis is not the first carmaker to significantly scale back its electric ambitions. US competitors Ford and General Motors (GM) had abandoned their ambitious plans for battery-powered models due to the policies of the US government under Donald Trump and weak demand for electric cars.

Electric mobility as a temporary billion-dollar drain
Trump had cut subsidies for electric cars and rejects environmentally friendly technologies. Ford wrote off $19.5 billion, GM $6 billion. In total, the industry sank more than €45 billion into electric cars in the form of write-offs last year alone.

Stellantis is hoping for sales growth of around 5 percent and operating profits in 2026. However, a positive cash flow is not expected until 2027.