Carmaker Stellantis pledges to tackle problems in North America as profits plunge

MILAN (AP) — Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares pledged action to tackle problems in North America and elsewhere Thursday after reporting a plunge in first-half earnings.

U.S.-European automaker Stellantis reported net profits down by half in the first half of the year due largely to lower sales and restructuring costs.

The carmaker, which was created in 2021 from the merger of Fiat-Chrysler with PSA Peugeot, reported net profits of 5.6 billion euros ($6 billion) in the period, down 48% compared with 11 billion euros in the same period last year. Revenues in the period dropped 14% to 85 billion euros.

Tavares acknowledged that the performance “fell short of our expectations, reflecting both a challenging industry context as well as our own operational issues.” He said the issues were being addressed, and expressed hope the launch of 20 new vehicles this year would improve profits.

He pointed to North America as a place where there is “significant work to do,” including inventory management and sliding market share.

Tavares has previously expressed dissatisfaction with the operation at some U.S. plants, citing an inventory backup and “suboptimal” marketing strategy.