Stellantis Lost $26.3 Billion on EVs Nobody Wanted: Jeep and Ram Parent Company's Historic Failure

Mike worked the Jeep assembly line in Toledo for 18 years. Every February, he got his profit-sharing check - usually $8,000-12,000 depending on the year. Last week, Stellantis announced the number for 2025. Zero dollars. First time since 2011.

"I got bills based on that money coming," Mike said. "My wife and I were planning to use it for our daughter's college deposits. Now we're scrambling."

Stellantis - the parent company of Jeep, Ram, Dodge, Chrysler, Alfa Romeo, and a dozen other brands - just posted a $26.3 billion loss for 2025. It's the company's first annual loss since Stellantis was formed in 2021 from the merger of Fiat Chrysler and France's PSA Group. The reason? A massive, expensive bet on electric vehicles that customers didn't want.

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The bill for getting it wrong

The company took $29.9 billion in "unusual charges" during 2025, almost entirely tied to scrapping electric vehicle projects and supply chains. CEO Antonio Filosa didn't mince words in the earnings statement: "Our results reflect the cost of over-estimating the pace of the energy transition."

Translation: they built EVs nobody bought, then had to eat the losses when they canceled the projects.

The casualty list is long. The all-electric Ram 1500 pickup - dead. Multiple Alfa Romeo EVs in development - canceled. The Maserati MC20 Folgore electric supercar after five years of development - scrapped. Even the plug-in hybrids got the axe. No more Jeep Wrangler 4xe, Grand Cherokee 4xe, or Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid for 2026.

Jennifer from Michigan was saving up for a Wrangler 4xe. She liked the idea of electric around town, gas for road trips. "I waited two years thinking they'd improve it or drop the price," she said.

"Now it doesn't exist. Guess I'm buying a regular Wrangler."

The pivot back to what sells

Stellantis is doing something almost no one predicted a few years ago - bringing back V8s and even diesels. Ram is cranking up HEMI V8 production by 100,000 units in 2026. The new Dodge Charger lineup? Getting turbocharged six-cylinder gas engines after initially launching as electric-only.

Carlos from Texas works at a Ram dealership. He watched it play out in real time. "When Ram dropped the V8 from the 2025 model, customers revolted," he said.

"Sales tanked. By late 2025, corporate brought it back. Now we can't keep them in stock."

The company's second-half 2025 revenue jumped 10% once they started shipping what people actually wanted - trucks with V8s, SUVs without massive batteries, practical transportation at prices customers could afford.

Who pays the price

UAW workers aren't the only ones feeling it. The company suspended dividends for 2026. Stock dropped despite the "turnaround" narrative. Tariff costs are expected to hit $1.9 billion this year, up from $1.4 billion in 2025, squeezing margins further.

Former CEO Carlos Tavares pushed the aggressive EV strategy. He's gone now, forced out in June 2025. New CEO Antonio Filosa inherited the mess and is trying to clean it up by giving customers "freedom of choice" - corporate speak for "we'll sell you whatever powertrain you want as long as you buy something."

The bigger picture

Stellantis isn't alone. Ford wrote down $19.5 billion on EV projects in December. Honda is losing $4.5 billion on its electric push. General Motors scaled back plans. The $7,500 federal EV tax credit expired in late 2025, and demand cratered immediately.

But Stellantis went harder than most on electrification under Tavares. They built battery factories in Italy and Germany that are now being scrapped. They designed platforms for EVs that never sold. They killed profitable plug-in hybrids to make room for pure electrics nobody wanted.

The company projects mid-single-digit revenue growth for 2026 and says they'll return to positive cash flow by 2027. That's the optimistic version. The realistic version is that they spent $26.3 billion learning what truck and SUV buyers have been saying all along - they're not ready to go full electric, especially not at the prices automakers were charging.

Sources:

• Stellantis earnings release (Feb 26, 2026)
• Gizmodo
• Carscoops