The Franco-Italian car manufacturer is facing some difficulties at the start of autumn. The car sales market is sluggish both at European and global level. With what long-term consequences for factories in France? .
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A drop in registrations in France for months
A fifth month of decline in car registrations in France. September confirms the drop in sales of new cars in France.
Already in August, the number of registrations had fallen by 11.07% compared to September 2023 according to the PFA, the Automotive Platform.
With 139,004 new cars registered in September, the market is doing worse than September 2022, when factories were slowed down by shortages of electronic chips.
The French No. 1 Stellantis recorded a clear decline (-17.52% and 25.9% market share), visible in particular on its Citroën and Opel brands. But Stellantis is not the only one to step back. The Renault group recorded (-14.27%, 24.4% of the market) with poor sales at Dacia.
Over the first nine months of 2024, with 1,265,905 registrations, the French market is down 1.76%. A lesser evil for the automotive industry.
In Europe, sales have been weak since the start of the year. The slower-than-expected growth in electric car sales, as well as the entry into force of tougher CO2 standards in 2025, make the outlook more negative for manufacturers and equipment suppliers alike.
Stellantis announced on October 1 that the suspension of production of the electric Fiat 500, initially scheduled to last until October 11, will be extended until November 1 due to low orders. The car is produced in Italy.
An American market that is slipping
In the United States, too, we are buying fewer new cars. And it is in this country that Stellantis makes the majority of its profits with its Ram, Chrysler and Dodge brands.
American dealers were struggling to sell overpriced vehicles: the group has been trying for several months to sell off its stocks with “an increase in promotions on vehicles”, but also “productivity improvement initiatives”, to produce less and for less.
Stellantis revises its objectives downward for 2024
Due to the strong sluggishness in the French market, as in Europe, but also the American market, Stellantis, which brings together Peugeot, Fiat and Opel, announced on Monday September 30 a lowering of these financial results objectives. The group is now targeting an operating margin for the year 2024 of between 5.5% and 7% compared to “double figures” previously.
Annual sales forecasts have been lowered to market levels, and competition is getting tougher with “increased supply” and “increased Chinese competition.
Stellantis press release
…and the stock market falls for Stellantis
As a result of the latest financial announcements from the Franco-Italian automobile group, Stellantis shares fell on Monday September 30 by 9.28% to 13.20 euros per share on the Paris Stock Exchange.
Stellantis is not the only manufacturer to rethink its financial ambitions. Volkswagen, BMW, Mercedes, Volvo and Aston Martin have also revised their objectives downwards, sometimes with job cuts as a result.
Remember that Stellantis has previously enjoyed record results and its profits are still in the billions. In the first half of 2024, the manufacturer’s net profit stood at 5.6 billion euros, a drop of 48% compared to the record profit of 10.9 billion achieved at the start of 2023.
At the Sochaux factory, the fear of a “boomerang effect”
In Doubs, at the historic Peugeot factory, now Stellantis, the unions monitor the group’s announcements, and watch with a worried eye as sales plunge. “It’s paradoxical, the employees see this as bad for the group, and at the same time, we work on Saturdays, we start a night shift here. Our fear is that this team will stop in December” asks Jérome Boussard, CGT elected official at the Stellantis factory in Sochaux.
People are buying fewer new cars. “Who can afford a hybrid car today for 40,000 euros? We suspect that given the Stellantis situation, there will be retaliation on the order book here, we are crossing our fingers that it will be as late as possible” adds Jérôme Boussard. The Sochaux factory will see production of the 5008 ramp up this fall, an objective which is reassuring for the moment. “What we are told in CSE is that the cars produced are cars sold. Can we believe them?”
The Doubs factory has 5,500 employees, 600 temporary workers and 450 others expected in November. This Thursday she will receive a visit from Carlos Tavares, Director-General Carlos Tavares, whose mandate ends at the beginning of 2026.