AUTOMAKER Stellantis confirmed today its 2023 outlook, thanks to a jump in third-quarter revenue, despite a costly strike in the United States.

The French-Italian-US automaker said revenue rose by 7% against the July-September period last year to €45.1 billion (RM228.76 billion), beating analyst expectations.

The company said the more than month-long strike by staff in the US, which has ended following a tentative agreement struck Saturday, had a negative impact of around €3 billion on revenue compared to planned production.

But even in the US, where the company earns about half of its revenue with its Chrysler and Jeep brands, sales volumes rose by 7% with revenue rising by 2%.

Overall shipments – a proxy for unit sales – rose by 11% from the same period last year – to just more than 1.4 million vehicles.

Shipments of battery electric vehicles rose by 37%, with the Jeep Avenger proving popular among consumers and a Citroen van enticing businesses in Europe. 

Stellantis aims to shift to 100% battery electric vehicles for consumers in Europe by 2030, and for them to account for 50% of sales in the US car and light pick-up truck segments.

The company, whose large stable of brands also includes Peugeot in France, Italy’s Fiat and Alfa Romeo and Germany’s Opel, confirmed its 2023 outlook of a double-digit adjusted operating margin and a positive cash flow from its manufacturing operations. – AFP, October 31, 2023.