Stellantis shipments fall 1% to 1.286 million vehicles ahead of October 28 results
Key Facts
Stellantis estimated consolidated shipments at about 1.286 million vehicles in the third quarter of 2026, down 1% from 1.300 million in the same period last year. The figures show diverging performance across markets: shipments fell in North America and the Middle East and Africa, while growth in electric vehicles in Enlarged Europe offset part of the decline. The company will report its quarterly financial results on Wednesday, October 28. The livestream and investor call will take place at 1:00 p.m. Central European Time, or 8:00 a.m. Eastern Time. Investors are awaiting the financial report after the shipment estimates offered an initial picture of delivery volumes, while the stock fell sharply in Milan trading on October 23.
The biggest pressure came from North America, where shipments fell 12% to 357,000 vehicles, compared with 404,000 in the third quarter of 2025. Stellantis attributed the decline mainly to planned summer production stoppages that affected some Jeep models. By contrast, Ram shipments increased by about 17,000 units year over year, easing part of the region's decline. At group level, the company said the drop in North America, together with lower shipments in the Middle East and Africa, was partly offset by an increase in electric vehicles in Enlarged Europe. These factors put the impact of the summer shutdowns at the center of the third-quarter performance assessment, as management said second-half performance is likely to be concentrated in the fourth quarter.
In Enlarged Europe, shipments rose 10% to 588,000 vehicles from 534,000 a year earlier. The company linked the growth to higher electric-vehicle shipments and the addition of about 26,000 units of models built on the Smart Car platform. Leapmotor also contributed, increasing shipments by about 34,000 vehicles to 44,000 in the third quarter. Stellantis attributed the increase to the launches of the B10 and B03X models, according to its filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The growth stands in contrast to the decline in North America, but was not enough to prevent a year-over-year drop in total group shipments.
The estimates came ahead of the release of full financial results, which will allow shipments to be compared with revenue, profitability and cash-flow indicators. In the second quarter, net revenues rose 13% year over year to 43.5 billion euros, and the company posted net income of 293 million euros, compared with a net loss of 1.869 billion euros in the second quarter of 2025. Adjusted operating income was 773 million euros, with a margin of 1.8%, while industrial free cash flow reached 1.0 billion euros. The October 28 results will provide the first quarterly financial reading since those figures, while the current shipment estimates reflect a clear divergence across regions. The company's full-year guidance will remain in focus in the upcoming report.
Stellantis reaffirmed its 2026 financial guidance in July, forecasting a mid-single-digit increase in net revenues, a low-single-digit adjusted operating income margin and an year-over-year improvement in industrial free cash flow. Management said second-half performance is likely to be concentrated in the fourth quarter, following summer production stoppages in the third quarter and amid continued operational improvement. The guidance does not specify a fourth-quarter figure, but places the expected improvement at year-end. EL7 data show the stock closing at 4.27 dollars on October 22, after 4.22 dollars the previous day; it closed at 4.37 dollars on October 16, 4.29 dollars on October 19 and 4.33 dollars on October 20. In Milan trading on October 23, the stock fell 7.5% to 3.50 euros, its lowest level since the Peugeot merger was completed in January 2021, according to Reuters via MarketScreener.
The decline in October 23 trading extended to other European automakers' shares: Mercedes-Benz fell 1.2%, Volkswagen about 1% and Porsche 2.2%. The pressure followed a nearly 30% plunge in Volvo Cars shares after the company reported a quarterly operating loss far larger than expected and cut an additional 2,500 jobs. Volvo Cars posted an operating loss of 3.7 billion Swedish kronor in the third quarter, after recording operating profit of 5.8 billion kronor in the same period of 2025. Reuters, via MarketScreener, linked the sector's pressure to Volvo's share decline after its results. Attention now turns to Stellantis' October 28 results, including financial performance indicators and an update to the company's full-year guidance.