Shares in Stellantis, which is listed in Milan, plunged on Thursday after it published disappointing earnings, while its French rivalStellantis, a 14-brand group that also includes Alfa Romeo, Chrysler, Dodge and Maserati, said net profit in the first six months of the year had been almost halved to €5.6bn for the first half of the year.said its operating profit had collapsed 99% to 995m yen in the three months to 30 June, with worldwide sales flatlining at just under 800,000.
Makoto Uchida, the chief executive of Nissan, blamed the downturn on its performance in the US, saying it was “unable to boost volumes as expected”, which analysts said was partly down to a change over from the old Rogue SUV-type vehicle to a newer model but also to a softening demand. Renault, which earlier this year pledged to bring down the cost of electric vehicles in order to compete with rivals in China, has just signed a deal to build a new low-cost Twingo EV in Slovenia.
It said the industry produced more than 416,000 vehicles, about 35,000 fewer than the first half of 2023. Mike Hawes, the body’s chief executive, said it was partly down to the transition to the production of electric vehicles as factories repurpose.