Prior to now few weeks, Stellantis has shelved its self-driving program, dialed again its EV targets, and pulled the plug on hydrogen. On the similar time, it’s dusted off its old-school V8 in a bid to generate some simple headlines. The Hemi’s completed that, however with no clear wager on the applied sciences shaping the trade’s future, the query is unavoidable: does Stellantis nonetheless have one?
Misplaced within the chaotic headlines of this summer time’s tariffs, commerce wars, Robotaxis, and diners was the announcement that Stellantis has quietly discontinued its hydrogen gas cell growth program, citing restricted hydrogen refueling infrastructure, excessive capital necessities, and a scarcity of client incentives.
Taken in isolation, that call is sensible. Hydrogen is dear, difficult, and unlikely to win broad client and even business adoption any time quickly. However in context, with Chrysler’s all-electric 2028 objective walked again, “electrical muscle automobiles” struggling to achieve traction, and billions in superior driver-assist programs now seemingly wasted, the large image is a little more troubling for the Mopar trustworthy.
Is Stellantis the following Nissan?
On the floor, it most likely looks like Nissan and Stellantis have rather a lot in frequent. Each struggling carmakers who had huge product wins within the Nineteen Nineties and early 2000s who slowly grew to become increasingly mainstream to the purpose that their present product traces might actually come from any model. Not like Nissan, nonetheless, Stellantis doesn’t have a sizzling, succesful new product in China like an N7 to pin its hopes on.
As an alternative, Stellantis has one thing like nostalgia — and also you see that in nearly all its manufacturers, from the barely-known within the US Lancia HF proto rally automotive to the Fiat 500e and on by the ICE-powered Charger. I’d would possibly argue that you just’d be laborious pressed to discover a trendy Mopar fan that’s as enthusiastic about an unique new product as they’re about re-hashing the previous or “bringing again” some antiquated tech.
So, no: Stellantis probably isn’t the following Nissan.
Stellantis is far worse off
pal of mine has spent the final a number of months constructing a brand new app — one which, if profitable, has the potential to make him buttloads of cash. “It might additionally do nothing,” he mentioned to me final Saturday. “I might need eight subscribers subsequent 12 months, or eighty thousand. You by no means know.”
It occurred to me that there was a extra horrible, unmentioned third choice in there, as properly: reasonable success. That’s infinitely worse as a result of, if it’s successful, you money out. If it’s a canine, you simply reduce your losses and transfer on. If it’s type of petering alongside making $2-3K a month?
I don’t learn about you guys, however that’s concurrently an excessive amount of cash for me to stroll away from however not sufficient to radically enhance my way of life. Particularly if it successfully requires me to work a second full time job.
With the doable exception of the new-for-2007 R35 GTR, Nissan had nothing however canines in its portfolio two years in the past, and the getting old Gen X-ers who would possibly swing on a new-age Hardbody or Setra SE-R are all shopping for crossovers as of late, so its current selections to chop bait and put money into a raft of latest merchandise is sensible. Stellantis, in the meantime, is caught in that horrible center floor.
Give it some thought. Stellantis nonetheless has some worthwhile Jeep and Ram fashions propping up the steadiness sheet and an extended historical past of manufacturers getting back from the brink. As such, they’ll hold going, assured of their confirmed historical past of pulling it again on the eleventh hour. They could but, however for now, it’s laborious to shake the sensation that Stellantis is retreating simply as the remainder of the trade pushes ahead.
Right here’s hoping they get that nostalgia proper, haul Tom Gale out of retirement, and are available again swinging with a brand new Neon at subsequent 12 months’s Detroit Auto Present. I feel that may set them on the fitting path — however possibly it’s too late for a easy, compact sedan to achieve mass attraction and rebuild their buyer base. Tell us what you consider Stellantis’ future within the feedback.
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