Inventory reduction process dragged down shipments Stellantis (STLA.US) Q3 car shipments fell 20%

The Zhitong Finance App learned that global automobile shipments of Stellantis (STLA.US), one of the world's largest automobile manufacturers, fell sharply by about one-fifth year-on-year in the third quarter, mainly because the automaker's leaders tried to continue to reduce its bloated car inventory. Stellantis said on Wednesday that global shipments fell to about 1.15 million vehicles, with major markets in North America falling sharply by 36%. The Jeep and Dodge automaker also mentioned the impact of new model releases and capacity transfers.

Stellantis has been struggling to deal with a series of issues such as excessive inventory expansion, the departure of key executives, and declining sales in the US. Previously, the company raised sales prices earlier than its peers. Since issuing a disastrous profit warning last month, the automaker's CEO, Carlos Tavares (Carlos Tavares), has taken a provocative tone, promising to fix performance in North America and replace some key executives, including its financial director.

Stellantis shares fell 2.4% in early trading in the Paris stock market, and the stock price has fallen 44% so far this year.

According to Stellantis data, overall sales in North America fell by about 170,000 units year on year, mainly due to the smooth implementation of announced production reduction plans aimed at reducing dealer inventory and product line gaps.

The scale of sales to end customers in the US increased Stellantis's market share from 7.2% in July to 8% in September, while the country's automobile inventory size fell by nearly 12% from the previous quarter, reflecting to some extent the gradual effectiveness of inventory reduction measures led by Tavares.

According to Stellantis, these deliverable goods refer to vehicles delivered to its dealers, distributors, or directly to retail or batch fleet customers. The auto giant includes several world-famous brands. In addition to Jeep and Dodge, its more than a dozen brands include Peugeot, Citroen, and Alfa Romeo.