Automaker Stellantis registered a 20% year on year decrease in consolidated shipments in Q3 to 1.148 million units due to production gaps in several models and headwinds from a challenging European market environment, it said in its Q3 results released Oct. 31.
In North America, shipments fell 36% year on year to 299,000 units due to a combination of strong Q3 2023 production, including 50,000 units of nameplates on hiatus in 2024 pending successor launches, as well as production constraints to lower US dealer inventories by 50,000 units, the company said.
In Europe, shipments decreased 17% year on year to 496,000 units, driven in particular by delayed launches of new B-segment products, including the Citroen C3, C3 Aircross, and others, as well as 5% lower industry volumes in the region.
In Middle East and Africa consolidated shipments dropped 26% year on year to 78,000 units, primarily from lower shipments to Algeria, where a temporary import restriction was in place, and secondarily in Turkey, where there were delays in ramping up a new light commercial vehicle LCV.
In China, India and the Asia Pacific, consolidated shipments fell 30% to 14,000 units, mainly due to decreases for Peugeot, Jeep and Ram vehicles amid increased competition in domestic and import markets.
Meanwhile, shipments in South America rose 14% to 258,000 units on stronger demand in Brazil and Argentina, production recovery after the Rio Grande do Sul flooding and expansion in the product portfolio, it said.
Overall, Stellantis’ Q3 revenues fell 27% due to the low shipments and sales, although the company said its US market share was improving and it was on track to resolve high inventories in North America by the end of 2024.
“While Q3 2024 performance is below our potential, I’m pleased with our progress addressing operational issues, in particular US inventories, which have been reduced meaningfully and are on track for year-end targets, as well as stabilization of US market share,” Stellantis CFO Doug Ostermann said in the results.
“In Europe, stringent quality requirements delayed the start of certain high-volume products, but with progress resolving challenges we will soon benefit from the significantly expanded reach our generational new product wave brings to 2025 and beyond,” he added.
Platts, part of S&P Global Commodity Insights, assessed domestic HRC prices in Northern Europe at Eur560/mt ex-works Ruhr Oct. 30, down 18.8% since the start of 2024.
