Automaker is stronger together amid $26 billion reset

DETROIT — Stellantis CEO Antonio Filosa on Friday said the automaker plans to move forward as one company amid speculation that it would be better off selling brands or splitting up after disappointing results.

“Stellantis is a very strong global company that is very proud to have very deep regional groups,” Filosa, an Italian native, told reporters during a media call. “It makes all of sense to stay together. We want to stay together for many years to come.”

His comments come hours after the company announced 22 billion euros ($26 billion) in charges from a business restructuring that includes pulling back on electrification plans and reintroducing V8 engines to U.S. models. 

Filosa described the actions as an “important strategic reset of our business model, with the only intention to put our customer preferences back at the center of what we do globally and in each regions.” He said the “mission is to grow” after notable declines in market share in recent years.

Stellantis’ stock plunged more than 20% in Milan and New York markets.

Filosa on Friday did not specifically rule out the possibility of regionally refocusing or shrinking the company’s vast portfolio of 14 auto brands that includes U.S. brands Jeep, Ram and Chrysler, as well as Italian nameplates Fiat and Alfa Romeo, which have not performed well domestically.

“We want to really manage our brands in the sense to provide to them the products and the technology that our customers, that are now at the center of our strategic reset, will tell us that they want and they need,” he said. “This is our core mission.”

Filosa said additional information about the company’s plans moving forward will come at a May 21 investor day.

Friday’s announcement comes days after Stellantis executives met with the company’s U.S. franchised dealers at their annual National Automobile Dealers Association conference with a message that the automaker planned to grow sales across its U.S. lineup of brands, according to two dealers who attended the meeting.

The majority of Friday’s announced charges — 14.7 billion euros — are related to realigning product plans with consumer preferences and new emission regulations in the U.S.

Other charges include 2.1 billion euros in resizing the company’s EV supply chain, 4.1 billion euros in warranty costs and 1.3 billion euros in restructuring European operations.

The automaker also canceled its dividend for 2026 and issued a 5 billion euro nonconvertible hybrid bond.

The charges related to EVs follow General Motors and Ford Motor announcing billions of dollars in similar expenses due to pullbacks in plans for all-electric vehicles.

Shares of Ford and GM were not as impacted as much as Stellantis, which also issued lower-than-expected…