Stellantis Sales Hit Rock Bottom With Under 1000 Units Sold In May 2024

Introduction To The Stellantis Group

When Fiat Chrysler Automobiles and the French PSA group agreed to a merger, the Stellantis group was formed. The group looks over 14 automobile brands, which include Abarth, Alfa Romeo, Chrysler, Citroën, Dodge, DS, Fiat, Jeep, Lancia, Maserati, Opel, Peugeot, Ram, and Vauxhall. The Stellantis group is the 4th largest automobile group as per sales after the Volkswagen group, Hyundai and Toyota.

Of all the 14 brands, Jeep and Citroen are the only brands to mass-produce cars for the Indian public. Jeep has been in the market for quite some time now, however, Citroen is a new addition to the Indian car scene. Peugeot tried its hand with the Indian market back in the 1990s. The collaboration with PAL failed and in the end that adventure was nothing short of a failure.

What Went Wrong?

Jeep released the Compass in 2017 and it did pretty well as far as sales are concerned. It sold more than 18,000 units of the Compass in 2018 and the future of Jeep India seemed promising. Unfortunately, the sales plummeted as years passed due to lack of updates with the Compass. The competition got tougher yet Jeep didn’t seem to bother improving the Compass. Jeep released the iconic Wrangler but the sales figures weren’t impressive. The Meridien was unveiled in 2022 to capture the SUV market. To Jeep’s despair, the segment is dominated by the Fortuner and the sales numbers have been disappointing. As a result of these issues, Jeep sold just 344 units in May 2024, which is 53% lower than its numbers a year ago. Aftersales service is a major contributor to the decline of the Jeep brand in India as well.

Unlike the Jeep, Citroen is pretty new to the market. The Citroen venture hasn’t been an instant success. The lineup is genuinely exciting. The C3, C3 Aircross, the Ë-C3 and the C5 Aircross are a fresh addition to the market. All the cars have been priced very attractively. Sadly, these efforts haven’t been appreciated by the public and its sales have been dismal. It sold a mere 515 units in May 2024. Whilst, it sold 806 units in May 2024. The decline is significant yet not as poor as that of Jeep. One of the main reasons for these atrocious figures is the severe cost-cutting. To achieve these attractive prices, Citroen decided to exclude basic features like keyless entry on its lower variant. Moreover, the aftersales network needs improvement and the reliability hasn’t been something to boast about.

What’s Next For The Stellantis Group?

Combine the sales figures for Jeep and Citroen and the Stellantis group has sold just 859 cars in May. The growth of Jeep has been stalled whilst the introduction of Citroen has been underwhelming. The group has invested heavily in the Indian car market, but it is yet to pay off.

The Stellantis group hasn’t given up on their Indian adventure yet. Citroen is rumoured to launch another SUV in the hope of improving its brand image while simultaneously giving its ongoing models facelifts. There are no major plans for Jeep at the moment and it is unlikely that we see any new Jeep models until mid-2025. If the Stellantis group improves the quality of cars while providing them at an appealing price, like Kia, they can anticipate healthier sales numbers.