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Stellantis, the parent company to brands like Jeep, Dodge, Fiat, Maserati and Peugeot, said Thursday it would reorganize its European dealer networks in July 2023 in an effort to cut costs and support its investment into electrification.
Starting next summer, Stellantis said it would end all current sales and services contracts with dealers in Austria, Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands, with the rest of Europe to follow, for all 14 of its brands. Stellantis will move towards an agency model that gives carmakers more control of sales transactions, prices and contracts with customers, and dealers will exist to help with deliveries and servicing.
This would lead to an “increased assumption of costs by Stellantis and the reduction of exposure to the risks of our distributors,” according to a statement released by the company.
“Stellantis’s vision is to promote a sustainable Distribution model and all involved stakeholders will benefit from these changes with the customer experience at the core,” said Uwe Hochgeschurtz, Stellantis chief operating officer in Europe, in a statement. “Customers will be able to take advantage of a multi-brand and multi-channel approach with a wider range of services. Dealers will have a new and efficient business model aimed at benefitting from Stellantis’ 14-brand portfolio, creating synergies, optimizing distribution costs and offering additional sustainable mobility solutions. Our partners play an important role by being the representatives of our brands in the field.”
Light commercial vehicles under the Stellantis umbrella are expected to enter the new distribution structure from January 1, 2024, a spokesperson told Reuters.
The move is part of Stellantis’s Dare Forward 2030 strategic plan, which aims to reach carbon net zero emissions by 2038. Included in the plan is a goal to achieve 100% passenger car battery electric vehicle (BEV) sales mix in Europe by the end of 2030. By 2025, Stellantis aims to launch only BEVs in the luxury and premium segments before electrifying its entire portfolio. In Europe, all launched will be BEVs from 2026 and beyond, the company said.
Stellantis also recently launched a strategy for its business unit dedicated to circular economics, which involves reaching sustainability and profitability through the tried and true method of remanufacture, repair, reuse and recycle. Dealerships will still come in handy for Stellantis’s brand of circular economics — for example, any car parts that the company remanufactures can be distributed and sold across dealership networks.