Jeep vehicles will be delivered to dealers in Chicago, Illinois on June 20, 2024.
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Detroit- Strantis U.S. new car sales continued their multi-year freefall in the third quarter, despite Chief Executive Carlos Tavares' attempts to correct what he called “arrogant” mistakes.
The transatlantic automaker reported on Tuesday U.S. sales of 305,294 vehicles from July to September, down 19.8% from the third quarter of 2023 and down 11.5% from the first three months of this year.
Stellantis is expected to have the worst third-quarter sales performance among the major automakers. Auto industry forecaster Cox Automotive expects the automaker's sales to fall about 21%.
Cox and fellow forecaster Edmunds expect third-quarter industry-wide sales to be down about 2% from a year ago.
Still, Stellantis said its efforts to boost sales and correct past mistakes are starting to pay off. The automaker said its market share grew from 7.2% to 8% in the third quarter and that U.S. vehicle inventories fell by 11.6%.
“We will continue to take the necessary actions to drive sales and prepare our dealer network and consumers for the arrival of the 2025 model year,” said Matt Thompson, director of U.S. retail sales for Stellantis. said in a press release.
Except for the Fiat segment, sales of all Stellantis brands fell in the third quarter, with sales of Chrysler and Dodge falling by more than 40%. Its Ram truck brand is down about 19% from a year ago, while Jeep is down about 6% from a year ago.
Stellantis, General Motors and Ford Stocks in 2024.
Stellantis' third-quarter sales are the latest trouble for the automaker this week, which cut its profit margin forecast for 2024 and recalled popular plug-in hybrid electric Jeep models over fire risks.
The company's shares are down 41% this year on the New York Stock Exchange. The stock hit a new 52-week low on Tuesday, closing at $13.71, down 2.4% on the day.
At an investor event in June, Tavares said the company would correct “arrogant” mistakes he and the company made in the automaker's U.S. operations that led to falling sales, bloated inventories and investors. Worry.
He said a combination of three factors contributed to the problem: vehicle inventory wasn't being sold fast enough; manufacturing issues, particularly at two unnamed factories; and a lack of “complexity in the way we go to market.”
U.S. sales of Stellantis (formerly Fiat Chrysler) have declined annually since reaching a recent peak of 2.2 million units in 2018. 13% compared with the previous year.
Stellantis' performance compared with the overall U.S. new light vehicle sales market grew 13% last year, according to federal data.
Since the merger of Fiat Chrysler and France's PSA Group PSA in January 2021 to form the company, Tavares has been on a profit-oriented, cost-cutting mission.
He prioritized profits and vehicle pricing over market share, drawing harsh criticism from the United Auto Workers and Stellantis' U.S. franchise dealers.