Automaker Stellantis, which operates a plant in Trnava, Slovakia, reported catastrophic results for the past year, posting a record loss of over €22 billion. The primary driver is a miscalculation regarding the shift to electric mobility. The company is now announcing a “total reset” and a return to internal combustion engines.
The European-American automotive group Stellantis reported a €22.3 billion loss in 2025 due to a strategic shift away from electric vehicles, according to a statement released Thursday. This marks the largest loss ever recorded by a French enterprise, according to the AFP news agency. The Stellantis group includes brands such as Peugeot, Citroën, and Fiat.
Stellantis also announced it will reintroduce models with combustion engines in the United States and Europe, including diesel engines. The company maintains that this decision does not contradict its commitment to innovation or its electrification goals.
The company reiterated its guidance for the current year, projecting net revenue growth of around 5 percent. However, it expects positive free cash flow from its vehicle business to return only in 2027. Stellantis will not pay a dividend this year.
Stellantis’s decision to reassess its electric vehicle strategy stems from weaker-than-expected demand for EVs in Europe and the removal of EV incentives in the United States. Losses related to this shift surged last year, reaching €25.4 billion, concentrated in the second half of the year.
The loss for 2025 surpasses any previously recorded by a French company, exceeding even the €23.3 billion loss incurred by media group Vivendi in 2002. Among French automakers, Renault previously held the record for the largest loss, at roughly one-third of Stellantis’s 2025 deficit, recorded in 2020.
Stellantis was formed in early 2021 through the merger of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) and PSA Group. Its portfolio includes brands such as Alfa Romeo, Chrysler, Citroën, Fiat, Jeep, Lancia, and Maserati.
Stellantis in Trnava
Stellantis also operates a plant in Trnava, Slovakia, where it has been active for two decades, focusing on the production of small city cars. Serial production began in 2006, and the company states that in 2019, it became the first plant within the former PSA Group to initiate battery production for electric vehicles.
We sought comment on the potential impact of Stellantis group leadership’s decisions on the Trnava plant and are awaiting a response from the company.
The €22 billion loss follows a challenging period for the automotive industry, with other major players like General Motors and Ford also recording substantial write-downs related to their EV strategies, as reported by Yahoo Finance. Stellantis’s reset involves canceling several electric vehicle models under development, primarily for the U.S. Market, and refocusing on high-margin combustion engines. The return of the HEMI V8 engine in North America is a notable example of this shift, according to Carscoops.
The company’s financial restructuring includes approximately €22.2 billion in charges excluded from adjusted operating income, with cash payments of roughly €6.5 billion expected over the next four years. Stellantis has also authorized the issuance of up to €5 billion in non-convertible subordinated perpetual hybrid bonds to bolster its balance sheet, maintaining approximately €46 billion in industrial available liquidity at year-end, as detailed in a press release.
This strategic overhaul comes after Stellantis overestimated the speed at which consumers would adopt electric vehicles. Several of its EV models, such as the Dodge Charger Daytona EV and the Jeep Wagoneer S, were priced at the higher end of their respective segments and struggled to compete with established rivals, Carscoops reported.