Stellantis Sees Modest Q1 Europe Performance in "Tough" Market

Stellantis records modest first-quarter vehicle sales in Europe with high-performing markets being offset by those with lackluster results.

For the European Union’s 29 markets as a whole, the automaker group reports an increase of 4.4% increase in volumes in both passenger car and light commercial vehicles year-on-year, securing a market share of 18.8%, up 0.5 points on the same period in 2023.

High points saw a 21.6% year-to-date lift in the German market, helped by 17.7% growth in the single month of April. Meanwhile, Spanish sales saw more than 15% sales growth in LCVs for April, confirming a year-to-date performance of 20% market share.

In the cost-of-living crisis-hit U.K., Stellantis achieved 8.3% growth in the first quarter and a market share of 14.2%, with strong performances by Jeep, Peugeot and Vauxhall in both the car and LCV markets.

Stellantis’s Pro One LCV business unit kept its market leadership on a year-to-date basis with a share of nearly 30% and a year-over-year volume increase of 11% across Europe, boosted by an outstanding April triple-digit sales growth in Portugal of 101%.

Conversely in Italy, the automaker reports an increase of just 3.2% across all vehicle sales compared to the previous year, albeit retaining its position as the market leader with 33.9% market share.

In the battery-electric vehicle sector, the group saw a modest 6% increase year-over-year for both car and LCV sales across the 10 major markets, capturing a 14.1% year-to-date market share in EU nations. In France, BEV volumes saw a 64.6% hike, achieving a 37.4% market share, up 8.8% compared to the previous year, with the Peugeot E-208 and Fiat 500e the top and second-best sellers, respectively.

Uwe Hochgeschurtz, Stellantis chief operating officer, enlarged Europe, says: “Our first months' results reflect the tough industry competition, in absence of incentives in many significant European markets. We are leading the transition to electrification in many of our key countries and our commercial vehicle offer remains unrivaled. Strong sales trend, a robust order backlog and improving order intake suggest a positive impact also in the second quarter.”