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Stellantis Less Volume in Europe—Opel is Downgraded

Source: dpa/jr | Translated by AI 2 min Reading Time

New strategy, less Opel: Stellantis invests billions, but focuses on other brands. In future, the Group wants to earn the money primarily in North America.

(Image: Stellantis)
(Image: Stellantis)

The car manufacturer Stellantis wants to reduce its production capacity in Europe by 800,000 cars per year. The Opel parent company announced at an investor day in Auburn Hills, USA, that it was planning to change the use of the plant in Poissy, France, as well as partner production facilities in Rennes, Madrid and Zaragoza.

The capacity utilization of the factories is to increase from 60 to 80 percent. The German Stellantis plants in Rüsselsheim and Eisenach were not mentioned. An all-electric SUV developed by Opel and the Chinese Stellantis subsidiary Leapmotor is to roll off the production line in Zaragoza. The jobs in production are to be retained, according to the Group.

Opel in the Second Row

The corporate strategy presented for the next five years puts Opel even further in the background. Group CEO Antonio Filosa wants to invest a total of 65 billion dollars by 2030 to get the VW rival with Italian, French and American roots back on track. To this end, cooperation with Chinese (Leapmotor, Dongfeng) and Indian partners (Tata) will be intensified.

In future, around 70 percent of investments will be allocated to the four core brands Jeep, Ram, Peugeot and Fiat, while Opel will be placed in the group of regional brands together with Chrysler, Dodge, Alfa Romeo and Citroën. DS and Lancia are to be managed by Citroën and Fiat in future.

While seven new models are planned for Peugeot by 2030, for example, only four are planned for Opel. Opel CEO Florian Huettl was only more specific with regard to two of the four new cars: one will be the new Corsa generation, the other the already confirmed C-segment SUV based on Chinese Leapmotor technology.

Citroën boss Xavier Chardon confirmed in Auburn Hills that the 2CV will return as an affordable electric car for less than 16,000 dollars. He intends to show a corresponding concept for the first time at the Paris Motor Show in mid-October.

110 New And Updated Cars

CEO Antonio Filosa announced 60 new cars and 50 model updates. Of these, 29 are pure battery cars. In Europe, Stellantis is aiming for an operating margin of three to five percent. The savings program on the continent is intended to help reduce the Group's annual costs by 6.5 billion dollars by 2028 compared to last year. In the North American market, Filosa is aiming for an operating margin of eight to ten percent by 2030.

The news was not well received on the stock market. As feared, the Group had set itself targets that were a long way off, wrote analyst Philippe Houchois from the US investment bank Jefferies.

The turnaround will not be achieved in one day, said Chairman of the Board of Directors and Agnelli heir John Elkann at the investor event.

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