August 4, 2024 –

Stellantis, the merger of American FCA and the French PSA Group in January 2021, is on the brink of failure.

When the American brands Chrysler, Dodge, Ram, and Jeep and Italian brands Fiat, Alfa Romeo, Lancia and Maserati, combined with French PSA Group (parent company of Peugeot, Citroën, DS, Vauxhall, and Opel), Stellantis became the world’s fourth-largest automaker. 

But the conglomerate included 14 brands, several of which were struggling, notably Chrysler and Dodge. Skepticism ensued quickly, but CEO Carlos Tavares, quelled doubts with a commitment to fund all of the storied brands for at least 10 years.

A year after the merger, Chrysler and Dodge were gutted. The first blow was the disbanding of the SRT division. Dodge performance vehicles were profitable and popular. More layoffs last spring culminated with the dismissal of the entire engineering division.

As reported in “Future of Chrysler, Dodge, RAM in doubt,” in January of this year Chrysler was down to one model, the Pacifica minivan. Dodge was down to two models, the Hornet and the Durango.

Stellantis also discontinued the Hemi V-8 engine leaving RAM Trucks without an eight-cylinder engine option.

Deeping the company’s troubles, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) fined Cummins $1.7 billion for cheating on diesel engine emissions regulations on RAM heavy-duty trucks.

Stellantis is also suffering from declining sales and recently posted a poorer-than-expected financial report. The company responded by announcing it would implement measures to boost profitability.

According to a report from Reuters, Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares outlined a new profit-boosting strategy during a recent call with reporters.

“If they don’t make money, we’ll shut them down,” Tavares said, referring to unprofitable brands. “We cannot afford to have brands that do not make money.”

Meanwhile, at Chrysler headquarters in Auburn Hills, Michigan, there is a mass exodus. The remaining staff are being offered buyouts while competing automakers and tier-one suppliers are poaching Chrysler’s remaining talent pool.

Tavares didn’t specify what brands would be shut down and a possible sale of one or more brands such as Maserati is a possibility. 

Stellantis also withdrew from all North American auto shows and was absent from last year’s Consumer Electronics Show (CES).

The unveiling of the Dodge Charger EV (replete with fake engine sounds) was encouraging. But reception to the vehicle was nominal and it’s unknown if the car will go into production.   The only hope for Chrysler and Dodge is a lineup of rebadged Italian and French cars from the Stellantis portfolio.

Chrysler has rebounded many times — Lee Iacocca’s miraculous revival in 1978, the defiant survival of buyouts from Cerberus and Daimler-Benz, and the emergence from bankruptcy in 2009.

But the question remains: Has Chrysler used up its nine lives?