Stellantis loses €22.3bn after "over-estimating" EV adoption

Stellantis lost €22.3 billion (£19.5bn) in 2025 as it overhauled its global product plan after “over-estimating the pace” of the shift to electric cars. It recently wrote down €22.2 billion (£19.4bn) after cancelling its US-based electric car programmes, contributing to a total write-down bill of €25.4 billion (£22.2bn). This, said CEO Antonio Filosa, reflected “the impact of previous poor operational execution” under former chief Carlos Tavares. Tavares was dogmatic in his belief that electric cars were the future. At the 2024 Paris motor show, he said the firm wanted to be “on the good side of history” in transitioning to EVs, citing issues with charging infrastructure – rather than any inherent issue with its products or in their perception – as the barrier to their wider adoption. But the mood has since shifted globally. US president Donald Trump, who entered office in January 2025, has halted EV purchase incentives rolled out under his predecessor Joe Biden, and has significantly relaxed emissions regulations. Meanwhile, the European Union has scrapped its 2035 moratorium on sales of combustion-engined vehicles, instead requiring that manufacturers’ emissions must be reduced by 90% (compared with 2021) by that deadline. Stellantis’ business was already in trouble away from the significant write-downs. It made an operating loss of €842 million (£734m) in 2025, with an operating income margin of just 0.5%. “Our 2025 full year results reflect the cost of over-estimating the pace of the energy transition,” said Filosa. Filosa added Stellantis is currently in a “reset [of] our business around our customers' freedom to choose from the full range of electric, hybrid and internal combustion technologies”. Stellantis does not expect an immediate turnaround but to instead make gradual improvements to its margins, revenues and cash flows this year. “In 2026 our focus will be on continuing to close the execution gaps of the past, adding further momentum to our return to profitable growth,” said Filosa. That includes significant investment into new combustion-engined cars, such as the Fiat 500 Hybrid – crucial for reversing the Italian maker’s woes since axing the previous-generation 500 – and the return of V8 engines to RAM pick-ups in the US.

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Stellantis loses €22.3bn after "over-estimating" EV adoption

"Poor operational execution" under former CEO Carlos Tavares has manifested in financial woe for the giant

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Stellantis loses €22.3bn after "over-estimating" EV adoption

"Poor operational execution" under former CEO Carlos Tavares has manifested in financial woe for the giant

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