By Dominic Chopping

Stellantis vehicle shipments fell 9% in the first quarter of 2025, when the Jeep and Ram-maker extended holiday shutdowns at North American plants in January.

The auto company, which also houses brands including Chrysler, Fiat and Peugeot, said global shipments--vehicle deliveries to dealers, distributors, or directly from the company to retail and fleet customers--fell to an estimated 1.2 million units.

In North America, vehicle shipments fell 20% in the quarter. Around 82,000 fewer cars were shipped than in the same quarter a year earlier on lower production due to the shutdowns, as well as the initial ramp up of its updated 2025 Ram heavy duty trucks.

Stellantis recently completed a process to reduce bloated inventories in the U.S. by increasing incentives for customers and cutting the number of cars it shipped to its dealers. Normalized dealer inventory levels were maintained during the quarter, it said.

The Jeep Compass, Grand Cherokee and Ram 1500/2500 each posted on-year increases sales volumes of more than 10% in the quarter. The company noted that March's new retail orders in the U.S. were at the highest level since July 2023.

Also hitting shipments in the quarter was the impact of product transitions and lower light commercial vehicle volumes in Europe.

Europe shipments fell by 47,000 vehicles, representing an 8% decline on year.

Across South America, Middle East & Africa, China and India & Asia Pacific, shipments grew by 4%, mainly driven by higher volumes in South America which more than offset declines elsewhere.

Despite the overall decline in global shipments, Stellantis launched new models in the quarter that included the Citroen C3 Aircross, Opel Frontera, Fiat Grande Panda, and the Ram 2500 and 3500 heavy-duty trucks, which it said helped drive positive momentum in order intake.

U.S. President Trump's 25% tariffs on automobile imports kicked in at the beginning of April and automakers are scrambling to assess the impact on their business. Last week, Stellantis said it was pausing production at its auto assembly factories in Mexico and Canada after the tariffs came into effect.

It has also extended its employee-discount program to the broader U.S. public on most new models as it moves to stoke sales, following a similar move by Ford.

Write to Dominic Chopping at dominic.chopping@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

April 11, 2025 02:40 ET (06:40 GMT)

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