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fliptop [soylentnews.org] writes:

Stellantis says it overestimated the EV transition and is shifting back to hybrids, V8s, and what customers actually want [autoblog.com]:

Stellantis took a €22.2 billion ($26.25 billion) write-down last year, tied largely to scaling back electric vehicle programs. But buried inside the numbers is a much bigger message: the company openly acknowledged it moved faster than customers were ready to follow. According to Stellantis [stellantisnorthamerica.com] and Reuters [reuters.com], the automaker is now rebuilding its strategy around real-world demand rather than aggressive electrification targets.

CEO Antonio Filosa was unusually direct in Stellantis’s announcement, saying the company “over-estimated the pace of the energy transition” and allowed their pre-planned strategy to overpower what buyers actually want [autoblog.com]. The result was billions written off in canceled EV products, impaired electric platforms, and downsized battery operations. Keep in mind, Stellantis had once aimed for electric vehicles to make up 50% of U.S. sales and all European sales by 2030 [autoblog.com], despite EV adoption in America sitting at 7% [autoblog.com].

That disconnect is now being corrected, with Stellantis shifting capital back toward hybrids and internal combustion models that align more closely with consumer wants. And it seems other automakers have the same idea in mind, with even Porsche [autoblog.com] rumored to abandon the all-electric 718 [autoblog.com]. To add fuel to the fire, there are countless players in the EV segment nowadays, with Chinese automakers [autoblog.com] seeming to lead the pack. Pursuing a profitable full-electric approach has become more difficult than ever before.

Previously:

• Stellantis Drops Jeep, Chrysler Plug-in Hybrids Amid EV Sales Slowdown [soylentnews.org]
• Chrysler to Go All-Electric by 2028, Starting with the Airflow in 2025 [soylentnews.org]

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