Stellantis Global Sales in 2021. All the details

Over the last 6 months, I have been looking for sales data around the world. The information sources change according to the region and country, and the availability of the data. In many cases, it is public information. In some other cases, you need the right contact to find it. And in other cases, you need to pay for it.

The research effort during these months paid off: I got figures for 106 markets around the world by make, model and bodytype, that represent more than 99% of the global total. In other words, the markets excluded (mainly in Africa) barely make 1% of the total. The following analysis is the result of this research.

Stellantis up by 3.8% vs +5.5% for overall market

While the overall light vehicle global market increased the sales volume by 5.5%, the group managed by Carlos Tavares was able to grow by 3.8%. It means that they lost market share, more precisely from 8.11% in 2020 to 7.97% a year later. The market share lose of 0.13 points was relatively low compared to the 1.13 points lost by General Motors, the biggest market share loser in 2021.

The reasons for Stellantis lower sales increase compared to the overall market are mainly related to the lack of growth in China, the world’s largest vehicle market. Peugeot and Citroen continued to struggle to meet the consumers taste, and Jeep had understanding issues with its Chinese partner GAC. Stellantis lost a good opportunity to increase its presence in one of the very few markets that continued to grow last year.

The 3rd or 5th largest in the world

When the merger between FCA and PSA was announced, their combined sales positioned them as the third largest car maker, only behind Toyota and Volkswagen, excluding the alliance Renault-Nissan. The pandemic and the uncertainty around the U.S. and European economies hit harder the new group than some of its peers. One of them was Hyundai-Kia, which did not suffer as much during the pandemic and continues to post strong results in North America, Europe and India-Pakistan.

As a result, the Korean maker increased the gap with Stellantis and reafirmed its position as the fourth largest OEM in the world in 2021. Hyundai-Kia, as well as Toyota, are properly expanding their operations in regions that grow quite fast. South East Asia, India-Pakistan, the Middle East, and Africa make the difference when it is about growth, and Hyundai and Toyota know it. These three regions made up less than 3% of Stellantis volume in 2021.

A SUV, Pickup maker

Last year, the pickup trucks and SUVs counted for 50.3% of Stellantis global sales. That’s 953,200 trucks and 2,285,000 SUVs. These figures make of the merger the third and fourth largest in the respective segments. Not bad, considering how profitable and popular these segments are.

However, there are concerns. Stellantis SUV sales increased by 4.7% vs 2020, while the three largest SUV sellers – Volkswagen, Toyota and Hyundai-Kia, posted double-digit growth. Honda, in the fifth position with 2.04 million units, was up by almost 10%. The good results of the Peugeot and Opel/Vauxhall SUVs were offset by the poor performance at Jeep, the most important SUV brand of the group.

Jeep’s SUV volume was up by only 3.1% to 1.17 million units. It was the second lowest increase among the world’s top 10 SUV brands, only behind Nissan, up by 1.2%. Jeep needs to grow faster and make use of the continous SUV boom in the global markets. It has a big potential that seems unexploited, especially when looking at its relatively small lineup.

FCA 59%, PSA 41%

In 2019, right before the merger was announced, the units sold by FCA represented 55% of the combined sales of the two companies. Two years later, under the same group, the former FCA made up 59% of the volume. In other words, the sale mix by brands of Stellantis continued to be dominated by Jeep, Fiat and the American brands.

Actually, Fiat was the brand that drove the growth last year. Thanks to the outstanding results of its pickups and sedans in South America, Fiat posted an 11% increase over 2020 to 1.25 million units. The Latin American market (Mexico included) made up 40% of that volume (33% in 2020). Fiat’s growth was much higher than the increase posted by its mainstream sister brands Peugeot (+5.0%), Citroen (+4.6%) and Opel/Vauxhall (+2.3%).

Just 123,700 premium cars

A dark spot in 2021 was the very little weight that the premium brands of the group have. According to my numbers, the combined sales of Alfa Romeo, DS, and Maserati totaled 123,700 units, or just 1.92% of Stellantis total. Although these three brands received a lot of investment and new products through out 2021 and this year, they are still struggling to find their place within this profitable segment.

Newbies like Genesis sold 202,400 units.

The Ram 1500 keeps leading, and the Fiat 500 is back to the top 10

The top 10 best-selling products of Stellantis include 5 SUVs, 4 small cars, and one pickup. The Ram 1500 continued to lead the group’s ranking with 431,500 units, down by 8%. Far behind was number two Jeep Wrangler, which was also the second best-seller in 2020.

However, it was the Peugeot 2008 the big winner of the year, climbing three positions and becoming the fifth most popular Stellantis product. This car was Europe’s top-selling SUV last year. The other big performer was the Fiat/Abarth 500, whose volume went up by 24% to 188,400 units.

Further down, the Fiat Strada shines with almost 118,000 units, up by 40%. Jeep sold 92,500 units of the Grand Cherokee L, and Opel/Vauxhall sold 75,700 units of the Mokka.

Source: official data by country, manufacturers, dealers