Stellantis posted record financial results on Wednesday, with battery EV sales jumping 41% and adjusted operating income growing 29% in 2022. CEO Carlos Tavares said a strong order book will carry the company through the first half of this year.
The European automaker, which entered its third year of establishment, announced the 2022 financial results on February 22.
Highlights of Stellantis 2022 financial results | ||
Item | Result | YoY change (%) |
Net revenues | EUR179.6 billion | 18 |
Net profit | EUR16.8 billion | 26 |
Adjusted operating income | EUR23.3 billion | 29 |
BEV sales | 288,000 vehicles | 41 |
Source: Stellantis, compiled by DIGITIMES Asia, February 2023
According to Stellantis, Europe contributed most of the significant BEV sales growth in 2022. It also saw its plug-in hybrid EV sales increase by 20% to 224,000 vehicles and sold out the most PHEVs in the US last year.
The company's adjusted operating income (AOI) was EUR23.3 billion (US$24.8 billion), bringing the margin to 13%. It said the result exceeded the target of a 12% AOI margin in 2030.
However, at a conference call following the release of financial results, Tavares said Stellantis was challenged by rising geopolitical tensions, regulatory chaos, supply chain disruptions and strong inflation in 2022.
The company saw shipment decrease by 8% in Europe, primarily because of semiconductor shortages and logistics issues. Its market share also declined by 240 basis points to 19.7%. Opel enjoyed the most BEV sales growth at 52% in 2022 among the group.
Tavares said outbound logistic problems have impacted Stellantis' market share in Europe since last year. But he believes the pain will be behind the company in the next few months.
The CEO also said the company already has sales and marketing tools to improve its market share in Europe with many cars in the dealer network. Moreover, growing interest rates have slowed down the economy. He said raw material prices are cooling down, which reduce total production costs.
Stellantis aims to reduce its total production costs at a faster pace than the erosion of pricing power, Tavares said. The price started to stabilize over the last few months.
The carmaker reported a record 16.4% AOI margin of 16.4% in the North American market last year despite semiconductor shortages and other supply chain constraints. Tavares said Stellantis will begin its EV offensive in the US in 2023 with Jeep and Ram models
In China, India and Asia Pacific markets, the company's AOI increased by 48% to EUR654 million. It has launched the Citroen E-C3 in the region. The vehicle has been produced in India and delivery started in February.
When asked about the 2023 outlook at the conference call, Tavares said Stellantis now holds a significant order book. It plans to put the right FIFO (first in, first out) sequence in delivering the orders and maintain a reasonable lead time in the first half of 2023.
He added that situations in the second half of 2023 will depend on the order intake rate in the second quarter. Consumer sentiment and the world economy will be the factors. The order intake will also be much dependent on the decisions that are going to be made on interest rates, Tavares said.
