Jeep Parent Stellantis Sees Shipments Sink as the Carmaker Clears US Inventories | Global News Avenue

star(STLA) shares fell in intraday trading Thursday after the automaker reported a sharp drop in shipments as it clears out U.S. inventory.

The parent company of brands including Chrysler, Jeep and Peugeot said fourth-quarter shipments fell 9% year-on-year to 1.4 million vehicles. Shipments in North America fell 28%, while sales fell only 5%.

Stellantis said the drop in shipments was due to “inventory reduction initiatives, in which production discipline combined with incentives resulted in U.S. dealer inventories being reduced by approximately 80,000 units compared with the end of the third quarter.”

Shipments in China, India and the Asia-Pacific region fell 33%, and Europe fell 6%. The only growing region was South America, where shipments increased by 12%. The Middle East and Africa regions were flat.

The automaker noted that the increase in South American sales stemmed from “strong industry demand in all major markets and the continued recovery of production following the flooding in Rio Grande do Sul.” In the Middle East and Africa, gains in Egypt, Morocco, Tunisia and Türkiye were offset by temporary import restrictions in Algeria.

Stellantis shares fell 1.5% to $12.56 in intraday trading Thursday, having lost more than 40% of its market value in the past year.