Stellantis CEO sticks to 2026 growth plan while shares hit record low

Antonio Filosa is standing by Stellantis’ 2026 targets

Stellantis CEO Antonio Filosa has reaffirmed the automaker’s 2026 financial guidance even as its U.S.-listed shares trade around record lows. The company continues to expect a mid-single-digit percentage increase in net revenue this year, along with an adjusted operating income margin in the low-single-digit range.

Filosa said Stellantis remains fully committed to those targets during an Automotive News event in Detroit. The guidance matches targets formally outlined by the company earlier this year and reaffirmed after its second-quarter results.

Stellantis shares have lost nearly 60% this year

Investor confidence remains under heavy pressure. Stellantis shares closed at $4.43 on September 29 after falling 4.1%, marking a new closing low for the company’s U.S.-listed stock.

The decline continued the following day, with shares finishing at $4.36, down another 1.58%. The stock has lost roughly 60% of its value so far in 2026.

That puts Stellantis on course for its weakest annual stock performance since the company was created through the merger of Fiat Chrysler and PSA Group in January 2021.

Cash flow remains one of the biggest turnaround challenges

Filosa also reconfirmed Stellantis’ goal of returning industrial free cash flow to positive territory in 2027 and generating €3 billion in 2028. The size of that challenge is clear from the company’s 2025 results. Stellantis recorded a negative industrial free cash flow of €4.5 billion alongside a difficult year for profitability.

The company reported a €22.3 billion net loss for 2025 after recording substantial unusual charges linked to its strategic reset. Moving from heavy cash outflows to positive generation is therefore central to proving that the turnaround is working.

Recent results show improvement, but the recovery is incomplete

Stellantis has already shown some financial improvement in 2026. Second-quarter net revenue rose 13% from a year earlier to €43.5 billion.

The company reported €773 million in adjusted operating income and a €293 million quarterly net profit, compared with a €1.87 billion net loss during the same period in 2025.

Industrial free cash flow was positive €1 billion during the quarter, although the first-half total remained negative €921 million. Those figures help explain why management is maintaining its guidance while investors remain cautious.

The turnaround is built around a €60 billion investment plan

Stellantis formally introduced its FaSTLAne 2030 strategy in May, outlining more than €60 billion of planned investment between 2026 and 2030. The plan targets €175 billion in net revenue, a 5% adjusted operating margin, and €3 billion in industrial free cash flow by 2028.

By 2030, Stellantis is targeting €190 billion in revenue, a 7% operating margin, and €6 billion in industrial free cash flow. Those longer-term targets make the current recovery only the first stage of a much larger restructuring effort.

Jeep, Ram, Peugeot, and Fiat will receive greater attention

Stellantis owns a large collection of automotive brands, but the new strategy does not treat every name equally when allocating investment.

Jeep, Ram, Peugeot, and Fiat have been identified as the company’s four global brands with the strongest combination of scale and potential profitability. Stellantis plans to direct about 70% of its brand and product investment toward those four brands and its Pro One commercial-vehicle operation.

In the United States, strengthening Jeep and Ram is particularly important because North America has been one of the company’s biggest problem areas.

Filosa wants to give customers more powertrain choices

A central part of Filosa’s reset is what he calls “freedom of choice,” rather than pushing customers toward one particular type of vehicle.

Stellantis plans new products across gasoline, mild-hybrid, hybrid, plug-in hybrid, range-extended electric, and fully electric powertrains. The company says customer demand should play a larger role in determining what each region receives.

Filosa has repeatedly described the strategy as listening more closely to buyers after Stellantis acknowledged it had previously overestimated the pace of the transition to electric vehicles.

Stellantis is not planning to eliminate its broad brand portfolio

Despite financial pressure, Stellantis has not announced plans to dismantle its collection of 14 automotive brands.

Instead, management says each brand will have a clearer role. Regional names such as Chrysler, Dodge, Citroën, Opel, and Alfa Romeo are expected to use shared global technologies while maintaining stronger identities in their main markets.

Not everyone is convinced that the structure will remain intact indefinitely. RBC Capital Markets analyst Tom Narayan said a breakup remains a plausible longer-term scenario, despite management’s public commitment to keeping Stellantis together.

Manufacturing efficiency is another major part of the reset

Stellantis also wants to extract more output from its existing factories rather than relying only on higher vehicle prices to improve profitability.

Under FaSTLAne 2030, the company is targeting roughly 80% manufacturing capacity utilization in both Europe and the United States by the end of the decade.

In Europe, Stellantis expects to reduce capacity by more than 800,000 units while repurposing plants and using partnerships. In the U.S., it plans to increase production, helping spread fixed factory costs across more vehicles and improving industrial efficiency.

Partnerships are being used to reduce development costs

Filosa’s strategy also relies more heavily on partnerships with other automakers and technology companies rather than developing every platform and system independently.

Stellantis says 13 of more than 60 planned vehicle launches through 2030 will involve key partners, helping improve capital efficiency and accelerate product development. The company is also expanding its technology collaborations.

In September 2026, autonomous-driving developer Momenta announced a partnership with Dongfeng Stellantis Automotive Technology, Stellantis’ Chinese joint venture with Dongfeng, to develop intelligent-driving technology.

Stellantis wants to bring new vehicles to market much faster

Execution speed has become another focus, as long development cycles can leave automakers slow to respond when consumer preferences change. Stellantis says vehicle development cycles can currently take up to 40 months.

Under FaSTLAne 2030, the company is targeting a 24-month time-to-market. Management is also aiming for top-quartile quality performance across all regions by 2028.

Faster launches only help the turnaround if products arrive with the reliability, pricing, and features buyers actually want, making quality and speed closely connected goals.

Regional teams are getting more control over what they sell

Another change under Filosa is to give regional management teams greater authority rather than applying a single global strategy across all markets.

North America, Europe, South America, and other regions face different customer preferences, regulations, fuel prices, and competitive conditions. Stellantis says local teams will receive more autonomy and resources to respond to those differences.

That approach is especially important in the United States, where the company needs to rebuild momentum around Jeep, Ram, and other established products. Stronger regional decision-making is intended to make Stellantis faster and more responsive to local demand.

California gas prices remain high despite global oil market fluctuations, underscoring how local taxes, refinery limits, and fuel rules can keep prices elevated even as oil markets shift.

The next year will test whether Stellantis can meet its turnaround targets

Stellantis has laid out clear financial targets, a major investment program, and a detailed restructuring strategy. Still, its recent record-low U.S. share price shows that the turnaround is unfolding under significant market pressure.

The immediate milestones are straightforward: revenue needs to grow, margins must recover, industrial free cash flow must improve in 2026, and the company expects that measure to turn positive in 2027.

Filosa’s decision to reaffirm guidance signals management’s confidence that the early recovery can continue. At the same time, Stellantis’ sharp share-price decline highlights the importance of delivering measurable progress over the next several quarters.

How oil prices shape American car-buying provides context, as fuel costs can affect whether shoppers choose gas cars, hybrids, EVs, or larger vehicles.

Do you think Stellantis can deliver its turnaround by focusing investment on Jeep, Ram, Peugeot, and Fiat, or should the company consider reducing its large brand portfolio?

Don’t forget to follow us for more exclusive content right here on MSN

If you liked this, you might also like:

• BMW CEO questions Chinese EV pricing and urges talks
• EV prices remain above the new-car average even as automakers adjust discounts
• Trump targets Biden-era vehicle rules and promises thousands in savings for car buyers

This slideshow was made with AI assistance and human editing.