Small Brands Present Challenge for StellantisSmall Brands Present Challenge for Stellantis

Stellantis is currently evaluating its brand stable going forward, as well as product strategy. There is no question that the company is working to steady Ram [Fixing Ram Starts at the Top] and Jeep, the company’s two most profitable brands, after sales declines last year. But there is much in flux concerning Fiat, Maserati and Alfa Romeo in the U.S., as well as how to shape Dodge going forward in the era of electrification.

Based on interviews with Stellantis executives, here are snapshots of where those brands are and what is being considered.

[Listen To this week's WardsAuto Podcast, sponsored by American Axle in which we chat with Stellantis senior execs].

Chrysler Pacifica

Chrysler:

Chrysler currently has just one model, the Pacifica minivan. Christine Feuell, CEO of the Chrysler brand since September 2021, says the company sees the minivan not only at the center of Chrysler’s strength, but Stellantis’s as well. “We are the No.1 minivan, and we had sales growth at retail last year.”

That is true. Pacifica sold more than 107,000 units in 2024, an overall 11% decline from 2023, but it had a surge in the fourth quarter after discounting was ratcheted up. The problem for Feuell going forward is how to grow the business.

A redesigned Pacifica retaining the popular Stow ’n’ Go seating system will come out in 2026, with a battery-electric minivan following in the 2027 model year. This year, a less expensive minivan, the Voyager, which has been a fleet car only, will be sold at retail, addressing the growing issue of new-vehicle affordability that every automaker is facing. But the previously discussed battery-electric CUV, originally due this year, has been paused.

The pause of the CUV has a lot to do with the slowdown in BEV demand, which is being propped up by heavily discounted (and money-losing) lease offers.

Feuell says there is a CUV in the works based on the Halcyon concept, but few details were offered. But given the fact that a Jeep CUV is on the way as a hybrid, it is likely that a Chrysler off the same platform and powertrain is likely. But then you have to wonder why the company would want to produce both when they are sold out of the same dealership.

Chrysler does not have a distribution problem as every sales point is combined with Ram, Dodge and Jeep. But going forward, the brand has a serious “modernity problem,” as one Stellantis executive puts it to WardsAuto, speaking on background. “Chrysler’s brand identity, outside of minivans, is seen as outdated and lacking innovation. And the brand doesn’t resonate at all with younger – Generation Y and Gen-Z buyers.”  There are a lot of mouths to feed, “and there are greater, more pressing priorities, but we don’t want to walk away from the minivan business, which is profitable,” says the executive.

With a couple of years until new products arrive, one question being asked internally is: Can the minivan be relaunched under the Ram brand, which includes commercial vans, without losing customers?

“Chrysler brand is here to stay. It is being well invested in. The brand is not on the table for elimination, and it has a very bright future,” Feuell says.

Dodge Hornet

Dodge

“This year marks the beginning of a new era for Dodge,” says Matt McAlear, CEO of Dodge. That’s good because 2024 was a bit of a debacle. Chrysler discontinued the Challenger and wound down the old Charger.

Dodge sales declined 29% last year to 142,000 units, including fleet. The new Charger Daytona BEV starts at $60,000. The Charger Daytona Scatback BEV starts at $74,000. That compares with a $33,000 starting MSRP for the old internal-combustion-powered Charger. That’s quite a price walk from the old model to the new.

A new ICE version of Charger comes later this year, sporting the Dodge 3.0L twin-turbo Hurricane straight-6 engine rated at 550 hp. There’s also a Sixpack Sports version rated at 420 hp. Pricing of that vehicle has not been announced.

The other two Dodge vehicles on sale now are the Hornet CUV and Durango SUV. The Hornet sold fewer than 21,000 units last year despite being in one of the industry’s fastest-growing segments. It is manufactured in Naples, Italy, alongside the Alfa Romeo Tonale, with which it shares a platform. Starting price is about $32,000, with a walk-in trim level up to $48,000. Heading into the fourth quarter of 2024 it had a 428-day supply, indicating apathy among car buyers. Inventory was driven down to about 100 days in the fourth quarter with a $299 per month lease offer.

McAlear is perhaps rightly focused on the Charger reboot. “We spent the last decade building the ‘brotherhood of muscle’ launching incredible cars like the Charger and Challenger Scat Pack and RedEye and Demon, and now we are embarking on the first all-new platform in this decade. And it’s exciting because it’s a platform that delivers more performance and a whole new experience to the customer and redefines what a muscle car is,” says McAlear.

Can Dodge count on its traditional customers embracing electric powertrains?  “Well, we are talking about a Scat Back with 670 hp, all-wheel-drive, more rear seat and leg room than the outgoing ICE Charger…this takes performance to a new level, zero to 60 (97 km/h) in 3.3 seconds.” Adds McAlear, “This thing is a blast to drive.”

Still, Stellantis made the probably wise decision to market both the BEVs and the ICE version, pricing of which has not yet been announced.

The Durango had a disappointing year, starting out the 2024 model year priced above the competition. In the second quarter last year, Dodge reset the price of the SUV, cutting the sticker by about $4,000.

With pricing mistakes behind it, and the launch of a new Charger, both BEV and ICE, this year, McAlear says he’s excited for the future.

Alfa-Romeo Tonale

Alfa Romeo-Maserati-Fiat

Fiat is on life support. In 2024, Stellantis sold 1,528 Fiat vehicles in the U. S. after selling just 605 units in 2023. The only model Fiat is selling in the U.S. in 2025 is the Fiat 500e, a limited-range BEV with little appeal even in cities where the model is being marketed.

The high-water mark for Fiat in the U.S. was 2014 when it was selling the Fiat 500 minicar in several trims, the larger 500L and the 500X, which was built alongside the Jeep Renegade on a shared platform.

In 2024, Maserati’s sales in the U. S. experienced a significant decline. While specific U.S. sales figures for the entire year are not publicly available, Stellantis reported that Maserati’s global deliveries dropped by 60% in the third quarter compared to the same period in 2023, with only 2,100 vehicles delivered worldwide during that quarter. Maserati sells four models in the U.S.: the Quattroporte, Grecale, Levante and Ghibli. Maserati may occupy some real estate in the heads of luxury buyers, but few are seriously considering the Italian brand with better known and more trusted models from German and Asian luxury marques readily available, as well as a resurgent Cadillac.

An excess of inventory has led to heavy discounting, undermining the brand’s premium image.

Alfa Romeo faces several challenges in the U.S. market as it strives to grow its presence and compete with established luxury brands. These challenges include brand awareness and recognition; fierce competition; limited dealer presence; and pricing and resale value.

In 2024, Alfa Romeo’s U.S. sales totaled 8,865 units, a 19% decline from the 10,898 vehicles sold in 2023. That is a small niche, especially given the availability of three models. It sold 2,320 Giulias, a 33% decrease from 2023. It sold 3,162 Stelvios, a 41% decline from 2023, and it sold 3,383 Tonales, an increase from 2,096 in 2023.

Feuell, who runs Alfa’s North American business in addition to Chrysler brand, is positive about Alfa’s outlook despite the poor numbers from last year. She says the model offerings have been simplified as far as content goes with the Giulia offering one core model with three trims: Veloce, Active Assist, and Premium Interior and Sound. The Stelvio midsize SUV also has one core model with similar trims. The Tonale compact CUV is offered with a new 2.0L turbocharged engine producing 268 hp and 295 lb.-ft. (400 Nm) of torque paired with all-wheel drive. The lineup includes a core model with optional packages and the Tributo Italiano edition.

Brand awareness and conversion of hand-raisers, though, remains an enormous challenge for the Italian brands because there is an abundance of competitors with better quality records, better dealers, greater marketing support and better resale value.

“We’ve got the products, but we need to do more to get our story out there,” says Feuell.