VAUXHALL OWNER ADMITS LOSING SIGHT OF ‘REAL WORLD’ DRIVERS OVER SHIFT TO EVS
The owner of Vauxhall shed a quarter of its value on Friday as it admitted it had lost sight of “real world” drivers in its disastrous shift to electric vehicles (EVs).
In a statement that sent shares tumbling, Stellantis announced a major reset of the business accompanied by a painful €22bn (£19bn) hit to its balance sheet.
Antonio Filosa, the chief executive, blamed the one-off charge on “poor execution” and “the cost of overestimating the pace of the energy transition that distanced us from many car buyers’ real-world needs, means and desires”.
The company – which also owns Fiat, Peugeot, Citroën and Jeep – said it was cancelling the launches of some electric models and preparing to instead revive hybrid versions of best-selling cars such as the Fiat 500.
However, the announcement appeared to do little to reassure investors. Shares in the Milan-listed business tanked by 25pc following the announcement – knocking nearly €6bn off its market valuation.
It means the company, now worth about €18bn, has shed nearly €70bn of value in under two years.
Experts said the carmaker’s “mea culpa” was the starkest admission yet that it has botched its approach to EVs at a time when it faces an existential threat from cheaper Chinese rivals.
Felipe Munoz, an independent automotive analyst, warned the problems the company was grappling with were endemic across traditional Western auto giants, which are struggling with the switch to electric models.
In the past year, carmakers including Volkswagen, Ford and General Motors have written a staggering $55bn (£40bn) off their balance sheets amid disappointing EV sales and government policy changes in the US and Europe.
Stellantis was formed from the merger of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles and the PSA Group in 2021, creating one of the world’s largest car companies with a large stable of well-known brands.
Since then, its market share in Europe has shrunk from 20pc to 14pc as the company has battled production delays, quality issues and growing competition from China, Mr Munoz said.
He added: “Stellantis are being honest and finally admitting what many people have been warning for years.
“But they’re not the only ones. If you look at VW, General Motors and Ford, they’re all having issues because they cannot produce affordable electric cars.
“When you look at the figures for electric cars in Europe, the Chinese are the ones gaining traction,” he said.
“Or look at Brazil – a key market for Stellantis – and people are buying electric cars but not Stellantis ones because they’re not even available.
“They’re far behind the Chinese and this is the consequence – they are losing market share.”
He added that the 14 brands within the Stellantis group was “far too many” and that bosses had failed to differentiate them enough and keep product line-ups fresh.
Only the “core” mass market brands such as Vauxhall, Peugeot, Citroën and Fiat, plus maybe one or two others, were ultimately worth keeping, Mr Munoz argued.
He also suggested that the company should expand its partnership with Chinese carmaker Leapmotor. A joint venture between the companies recently launched the T03 city car in Europe, which starts at about £15,000 and has a range of about 165 miles.
Mr Filosa, who took the helm at Stellantis in June, also blamed his company’s malaise on “poor operational execution” – a thinly veiled swipe at his predecessor, Carlos Tavares, who was ousted from his post amid shareholder dissatisfaction.
Mr Filosa said: “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.
“They also reflect the impact of previous poor operational execution, the effects of which are being progressively addressed by our new team.”
Mr Filosa said management had “gone deep into every corner of our business and are making the necessary changes” with a new strategy expected to be finalised and announced in May.
His dramatic rethink of the company’s electric car strategy will bring fresh scrutiny of the Government’s electric car mandate, which sets strict sales targets for manufacturers up to 2030.
On Friday, the European boss of Korean car giant Hyundai told The Telegraph that the existing policy was too ambitious and in need of a “reality check”.
2026-02-06T08:25:27Z
