Stellantis may review its marques in 2026

Automotive News, quoting Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares, reported that Stellantis may review its many marques in 2026 rather than giving them the full ten years promised at the union of Fiat Chrysler and Peugeot.

The company’s marques in the United States have, other than Jeep, been starved for product. Dodge has the old Durango and the new but slow-selling Hornet, while Chrysler only has the Pacifica (with or without Voyager badging); Chargers are due at dealerships soon and take the place of both Charger and Challenger.

Ram has its full range of large pickups and chassis cabs, but the midsized pickup has been pushed back beyond 2026, and the only electric ProMaster starts at $90,000. Finally, Jeep has a good range of vehicles, but is missing the most mainstream car: the midsized crossover, which will be arriving later this year in electric form and in 2025-26 in Cherokee gasoline form, if plans continue as they were months ago.

Stellantis appears to have voided its promise to the UAW of keeping the Jefferson North plant open, reportedly dropping the planned next-generation Durango in favor of a large crossover. The company did not deny this change, but claimed any promises made to the union were not enforceable due to a “we can change our minds about anything based on the markets” letter. The company then followed through by suing numerous union locals and the national union to deny the right to strike which in theory was in the contract as well. In addition, the midsized truck has been “postponed,” and reportedly domestic production of some electric car parts was cancelled as well.

Which marques are most vulnerable remains an open question. The Charger could well keep Dodge viable, but Chrysler is apparently not likely to get new product until 2026, meaning initial public reactions could make or break the marque. In theory a new Pacifica replacement should be in the works by then, but this was not promised outright; and even if it was, any promise is subject to “market forces.” The executive hired to run Chrysler has also been put in charge of Ram.

Jeep is almost certain to survive the cuts, and Ram, which is now a global marque, is also likely to make it. In Europe, the question is whether Fiat’s old darling brand, Alfa Romeo, will survive; Peugeot’s DS, which competes in roughly the same space, is also an open question. Maserati lost money last quarter but has had more investment recently, and remains a legendary brand in many parts of the world, and seems unlikely to be closed; but it could be sold (most likely to Ferrari, followed by Volkswagen or a Chinese company). Some believe Vauxhall will be dropped, but this UK marque merely duplicates Opel and it’s unlikely that dropping it would save more than it would cost.

See Allpar for a great deal of discussion on this.