Market Insight: Stellantis lifts global sales

GLOBAL automotive conglomerate Stellantis had a strong year in 2022 as it posted revenue of more than $A287 billion and net profit of almost $27 billion, both improvements of up to 26 per cent on the previous year.

The umbrella company, which holds 14 automotive manufacturers, also reduced warranty and customer complaints by 30 per cent in 2022.

Sales rose in almost all of Stellantis’ major global markets, which makes Australia a bit of a thorn in its side when its eight represented brands here failed to make much headway despite an overall market rise.

Only Fiat, adult-size ute-maker Ram, and Fiat Professional – the commercial vehicle arm of Stellantis – posted gains. The other six brands fell on year-to-date February sales figures.

Much of the declines are attributed to the current global production delays and holdups in transport logistics. But some of the blame can be attributed to the reduction in new products available to consumers and the withdrawal of some stalwart models.

In Alfa Romeo’s case, sales for February year-to-date (YTD) are down 41.6 per cent. It sold 59 vehicles in the two months of 2023 and on that basis, could sell about 360 units for the full year, a 37 per cent dive on the sales volume in 2022 when the brand found 571 new owners.

In Alfa’s favour, its current two-model line-up of the Giulia and Stelvio will be joined by the small SUV, the Tonale, in May this year. In the second half of 2023, there will also be an update of the Giulia and Stelvio.

The current two-model offering, although suited to the current buyer preferences, is a long way shy of the four models – 4C, Giulia, Giulietta and MiTo – available in 2017 when the brand sold 1057 units.

Meanwhile, the one-time flagship of the Fiat-Chrysler empire, Fiat, is holding its own with renewed interest in its two-grade 500 model and its Abarth sister, the 695 Competizione.

The two trim levels of the 500 petrol hatch (there is no longer a convertible) will be joined by an electric version, the 500e (also in Abarth guise), in the second half of this year.

Again, in 2017, Fiat had five models – 500, Abarth 124 Spider, Panda, Freemont and 500X – in its showroom and 2008 local sales. Year-to-date sales in 2023 are 149 units, up 34.2 per cent on the first two months of 2022.

Fiat Professional, which sells Ducato, also had a decent start to 2023 with a 28.8 per cent boost in sales with 170 new buyers found.

The other winner from the eight Stellantis brands in Australia is Ram, which is up 91.6 per cent in the two months with 956 sales. 

Ram has progressively lifted sales from 2016 under the care of independent distributors Ateco Automotive and its partnership with Walkinshaw to produce high-quality right-hand drive conversions.

Despite a strong model range, Jeep has slipped in the past couple of years and certainly down on its purple patch in the mid 2010s when the Grand Cherokee was Australia’s most popular mid-size SUV.

In 2014, Jeep sold 30,408 units, of which 16,582 were Grand Cherokees. As a comparison, 1780 Grand Cherokees were sold in 2022.

Wrangler sold 2900 units (1314 in 2022) and the Cherokee just shy of 4000 units (305 sold in 2022).

The YTD sales for 2023 are 699 units, down 36.4 per cent on the corresponding period in 2022, with the Compass the only model of the five (Grand Cherokee, Cherokee, Compass, Wrangler and Gladiator) showing an increase.

Jeep is, however, boosting its model line-up. It will launch its new five-seat model in April and a plug-in hybrid version in the second half of this year.

The other Stellantis brands sold here are Citroen (21 sales YTD February, down 66.1 per cent on the same time in 2022), Peugeot (226 sales, down 38.4 per cent) and Maserati with 38 sales, down 56.8 per cent.

Maserati is tracking well in sales on a year-by-year basis with 594 units sold in 2022, up on its seven-year annual average of 567 units.

Citroen sold 296 units in 2022 against a seven-year annual average of 467, while Peugeot sold 2087 units, also down on its average of 2689 vehicles.