Unprecedented profitability and record margins, despite sales hampered by commodity inflation, the semiconductor crisis and the impact of the war in Ukraine. For Stellantis, the first semester is that of all superlatives. The picture presented by Renault is less flamboyant, but it confirms the recovery of a group that was nevertheless forced to withdraw from a very lucrative Russian market. The two manufacturers, who published their accounts on Thursday July 28 and Friday July 29, do not only have in common an ability to demonstrate resilience. These half-year results also establish a break with the logic based on volumes and the conversion to a model that relies on cars produced on a smaller scale, but sold at a higher price.
Carlos Tavares, who not so long ago vilified the destabilizing effects of the accelerated transition to all-electric, no longer has such a hard tooth. The exceptional results announced by the CEO of Stellantis for the first half (a turnover up 17%, 8 billion euros in net profit and an operating margin of 14%) are largely due to its electrified models. These make an essential contribution to the profitability of Stellantis, particularly marked in North America (the operating margin there reached 18%), eight points more than in Europe, where sales fell more sharply than the market. The group has bet on rechargeable hybrid engines, in decline, rather than on conventional hybrids and does not have a specific platform for electric ones.
Stellantis, whose sales are down 7%, is digging the furrow of a value-based strategy by taking advantage of the constraints weighing on production to increase its prices. “We have chosen to favor vehicles that make the most margin to the detriment of others. This is the best way to protect the company”believes the group’s boss, who is pleased to have reached “a breakeven point of 40%”. “This means we could sustain a 60% drop in our volumes and still be profitable”, justifies Mr. Tavares. Quite optimistic about semiconductors, he expects, on the other hand, a lasting rise in energy prices and fears a global recession. However, it confirms the ambition to double the group’s turnover by 2030 and the objective of an operating margin “in double digits throughout the decade”.
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