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The result of a merger between Fiat Chrysler Automobiles and Peugeot S.A., Stellantis sold around 347,700 vehicles in the fourth quarter of 2022. This volume was down by around 15.5 percent compared with the same period last year. The largest drops in annual sales belong to Fiat and Alfa Romeo. While Stellantis’s other subsidiaries fared better, all brands recorded a drop in sales as a result of the global automotive semiconductor shortage.


Stellantis and the future of vehicle sales

Drops in sales in the U.S. market was not a problem faced exclusively by Stellantis. Light vehicle retail sales in the United States have slumped in 2020, as a result of the global COVID-19 pandemic which put car manufacturing at a standstill and decreased overall demand. Stellantis further faced issues with the global chip shortage of 2021, which impacted its vehicle production and 2022 sales. Further market developments towards alternative fuels present a challenge for automakers. New energy light trucks and cars are gaining in popularity. The industry sold an estimated 607,600 plug-in electric vehicles in the United States in 2021.

Entering the electric market is cited as one of the principal reasons why Fiat Chrysler originally approached major European manufacturing group, Renault, for a merger in 2019. Renault already worked in collaboration with Nissan and Mitsubishi, and the alliance saw plug-in electric vehicle sales increase 67 percent from 2017 to 2018. Nissan also has one of the best-selling car brands in the U.S. On the global scale, it was expected that for all parties, the merger will allow the manufacturers to stay influential in an increasingly competitive global market.

Talks with Renault led nowhere significant. The Alliance of Renault, Nissan and Mitsubishi faced trouble between 2017 and 2020 as their lead figure came under criminal investigations. Fiat Chrysler then went on to announce a merger with Group PSA which was approved by shareholders in January 2021, with the deal completed that same month.

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