
Struggling Detroit Big Three automaker forced to bring back gas-guzzling cars after huge sales slump
Stellantis — the company running iconic American car brands Chrysler, Jeep, Dodge, and Ram — shocked investors, admitting it lost $2.68 billion in the first half of 2025.
That extends a streak of sales bungles. Last year, the company reported a 70 percent plummet in profits.
Now, experts tell DailyMail.com that consumers should expect to see a lineup of rumbling gas-burners at US dealerships to boost those sales.
'Brand portfolio decisions made under the prior leadership missed the core needs of existing Ram, Dodge, and Jeep customers,' Rella Suskin, an analyst at MorningStar, said.
'This has left wide gaps in these brands' offering relative to where the market demand lies.'
The first gas-powered shoe to drop was Ram's decision to revive the Hemi V8 version of its full-size pickup truck.
Last year, the truckmaker killed the grumbly 5.7-liter engine for a more efficient, higher-powered V6 engine. But customers balked at the decision to kill the gas-guzzler, forcing the truck's top boss to apologize in a new ad campaign.
'We own it. We got it wrong. And we're fixing it,' Tim Kuniskis, the CEO of the Ram brand, said in its latest commercial, speaking over the thunderous growl of the truck's iconic V8 cylinders.
'You hear that? That's our HEMI. And it's saying, "We're back."'
Suskin said the shift back to rumbling tailpipes will extend to other brands, too.
She pointed out that Jeep is bringing back the mid-sized Jeep Cherokee this year, plugging the company back into the best-selling segment in American carmaking.
'For Dodge, the company had focused on a new electric version model, however this does not speak to the core customer,' she added.
'Stellantis will look to bring back a car to appease the core customer.'
The about-face comes as Stellantis faces a financial crisis that's forcing the dramatic strategy shift.
The company's staggering billion-dollar first-half loss was revealed ahead of a scheduled July 29 earnings release.
The financial meltdown isn't surprising.
Former CEO Carlos Tavares abruptly quit in December with two years left on his contract, leaving replacement Antonio Filosa a gargantuan clean-up task.
Meanwhile, Trump's tariffs are hammering the company hard. Stellantis has already paid $350 million in tariffs this year and expects the bill to hit $1.5 billion by December. US shipments have cratered 25 percent.
But here's the kicker for car buyers: prices at dealerships are expected to jump this year, Suskin said.
Dodge currently has 118 days worth of unsold cars sitting on lots — way above the industry average of 82 days. That massive inventory glut, combined with pre-tariff vehicles still being sold off, has kept prices artificially low.
'Management alluded to the avoidance of price increases thus far,' she said.
'But we expect price increases to be used as a tariff-impact mitigation lever.'
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


BBC News
7 minutes ago
- BBC News
Family stranded on holiday after car recalled over unsafe airbags
A motorist said she had to pay £1,000 to have her car towed more than 150 miles (240km) home after finding out her airbags were Drinkwater, from Harrogate, was at the British Grand Prix at Silverstone on 5 July when she received a message from her insurance company saying her Citroen car had a "stop drive" the parent company of Citroen, issued the notice for 120,000 of its vehicles in the UK after a woman was killed in a crash in France when her airbag Drinkwater, 38, said: "It's scary to think about what could have happened if I had been in an accident and the airbags had gone off. They're supposed to save your life, not take your life." Ms Drinkwater said she was told a chemical fault meant the airbags – made by the now-defunct Japanese airbag maker Takata - could explode without warning,It is thought that 35 people have been killed by Takata airbags around the world, and some 100 million vehicles have been recalled in various scandal was mainly focused in the US and has belatedly hit Europe over the last two years, with the UK arm of Stellantis now also issuing a stop drive Drinkwater, who had travelled to Silverstone with her partner and stepson, said she had waited four days to find a company to tow her car and caravan back to North Yorkshire, having to take extra time off work as a result."It has been a complete nightmare and I don't even know if I'll get any compensation," she said. She said while she waited for the airbags to be replaced her usual one-hour journey to visit her mother 33 miles (53km) away in Wakefield had become a six-hour round trip by public transport."I care for my mum as she has kidney failure and usually do her food shopping, but had to order shopping online to be sent to her home while I was stranded as I couldn't get back to help her," she said."I feel very angry at how the whole situation has been handled, as it has been a massive inconvenience."They've sold people cars that are a risk to life with faulty parts and then we are the ones out of pocket having to pay for an issue that was their fault." Ms Drinkwater said she was fortunate the airbags in her vehicle had now been replaced as some some people were facing lengthy waits.A spokesperson for Stellantis said the company's focus "remains on completing the replacement of airbags in affected vehicles as swiftly as possible".They said: "It is inevitable, with such a large number of vehicles affected, that customers could be inconvenienced in the short term."However, we are deploying a variety of options to support mobility, recognising that every driver will have individual requirements, and that priority needs to be given to customers with the most urgent needs." Listen to highlights from North Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North.


Telegraph
37 minutes ago
- Telegraph
Vauxhall owner risks exclusion from Labour electric car scheme
The owner of Vauxhall risks being excluded from Labour's electric vehicle (EV) grant scheme over its reliance on Polish factories. Stellantis, which owns brands including Peugeot, Citroën and Fiat, is among several car manufacturers scrambling to demonstrate their eco-credentials in a bid to qualify for new government subsidies. But it is understood some of the company's cars may miss out on £3,750 grants offered by ministers because they are made in Poland and risk falling foul of net zero rules. Under the scheme, vehicles put forward by manufacturers will be scored based on how green their production processes are. Those with the highest scores risk being excluded or only receiving a smaller payment of £1,500. Carmakers must also prove they are signed up to 'science-based targets' to cut their carbon emissions, in line with net zero targets. Ministers have already warned that Chinese-made cars are likely to be blocked from receiving grants for these reasons. China is the world's biggest carbon dioxide emitter, largely because of its huge consumption of coal for power generation. But car industry insiders have warned the scheme's rules may also create a headache for Western manufacturers with operations in Poland because of the European country's similarly high dependence on coal. Like China, roughly 60pc of Poland's electricity is generated by burning the fuel. Both countries generate about 7.5 tonnes of carbon dioxide per capita overall, according to the International Energy Agency. The Government's grant scheme will assess carmakers on where they assemble EVs as well as where their EV batteries are produced. A 30pc weighting will be given to the former and a 70pc weighting to the latter, according to a briefing seen by The Telegraph. It means some carmakers – including Stellantis – may be penalised for their dependence on Poland, which has attracted huge investment from the car industry and is also Europe's biggest supplier of batteries. Electric models made by Stellantis at its plant in Tychy, in southern Poland, include the Jeep Avenger, Fiat 600e, Alfa Romeo Junior Elettrica and the Abarth 600e. Until earlier this year, the company also made the Leapmotor T03 there through a joint venture. It is not clear where Stellantis sources batteries for the cars made in Tychy but in addition to using its own battery joint venture in France, the company is understood to rely on a supplier based in China as well. Several other major car companies also rely on China for supplies, as well as on an LG Energy Solutions plant based in Wrocław, Poland, which is Europe's biggest battery factory. Ginny Buckley, chief executive of an electric car advice service, said: 'Poland may be Europe's EV battery powerhouse – second only to China globally – but its coal-heavy energy mix could mean its batteries will be excluded from the new electric car grants, as under the Government's strict environmental criteria only EVs with low-carbon supply chains qualify. 'It's a move that risks punishing carmakers working to establish European supply chains and limiting consumer choice.' Uncertainty about whether certain cars will qualify for Britain's EV grant scheme has prompted complaints from car industry executives, who say it has made it harder to plan their marketing strategies for August and September. Mike Hawes, chief executive of the Society for Motor Manufacturers and Traders, warned this week that manufacturers had been left trying to peer through 'a fog'. Meanwhile, Chinese manufacturers such as BYD have already started slashing their UK car prices, in a defensive measure to compensate for their exclusion. Dan Caesar, chief executive of campaign group Electric Vehicles UK, said: 'Some [carmakers] know that they're unlikely to be eligible and are proactively discounting ahead of time, while those that are applying will not be able to act as immediately.' A Whitehall source acknowledged the grant scheme rules could block some cars made by Western manufacturers but cautioned that officials could not say for certain until manufacturers applied to join the scheme. 'We want as many models as possible to qualify for these grants, but the scheme has been intentionally designed to incentivise the greenest possible manufacturing,' they said. 'There will be ways that companies that manufacture in different places, and through different means, can work with us to ensure they are still included.' A Stellantis spokesman said: 'Stellantis welcomes the Government's support to increase the sales of more affordable electric vehicles. 'This is something that we have been asking for. We are making the necessary grant applications for customers of our electric vehicles and are confident that a wide range of these, manufactured in our plants in the UK and Western Europe, will be eligible.'


Daily Mail
2 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Once‑desirable homes face 'worthless' future as insurance crisis deepens in blue state
A new cost-of-living crisis is deepening across America's progressive capital. In California, soaring climate risk and mounting insurance losses are converging into a property crisis experts warn could slash the value of millions of homes. Deep Sky, a Canadian carbon removal firm, published an analysis of the state's housing insurance market, which painted a dire picture. 'The highest risk areas of California have effectively become uninsurable and will soon become unaffordable,' the study, published in mid-June, concluded. 'Without significant policy intervention, these properties will eventually become worthless.' The warning comes just six months after destructive blazes ripped through Southern California, destroying over 18,000 structures and burning more than 57,000 acres. In January, the Palisades and Eaton fires became two of the most destructive blazes in state history. The impact on the insurance market, which was already under pressure, was immediate. In the first quarter of 2025, insurers posted a $1.1 billion net underwriting loss — a sharp reversal from the $9.4 billion gain they posted the same period a year before. Those numbers have hit some of the most wildfire-prone areas, where premiums have jumped by 42 percent since 2019, and more than 150,000 homes are now uninsured altogether as residents simply cannot afford coverage. But the state has a long way to fall before reaching worthlessness. Right now, the Golden State is America's most expensive housing market. Median home values in California are currently just over $780,000, according to Zillow. That's over $400,000 more than the US average. But, without a robust fire insurance market, policymakers and researchers are warning that the state is resting on shaky grounds. In May, Ricardo Lara, the state's insurance commissioner, approved a 17 percent rate hike for State Farm General, California's largest home insurance provider, to help pay for earlier destruction. 'The market is not going to fail under my leadership,' he told Politico after the decision. 'I have to make these hard decisions, even though it makes me the most unpopular person, and maybe nobody wants this position in the future.' California recently adjusted its climate regulations to allow for more home building across the state And California is by no means alone. Several other states that are prone to natural disasters have faced mounting home insurance issues. State Farm hiked home insurance rates in Illinois by 27.2 percent this month, adding $746 to the average bill. The insurer insists the hike is unavoidable, claiming it is paying out far more in claims than it collects in premiums in the state which is prone to hailstorms. Florida, which saw a major inflow of residents in 2020, is seeing housing shoppers flee its hurricane-vulnerable coastlines that used to draw million-dollar buyers. In April, contracts to buy homes in the Miami, West Palm Beach and Fort Lauderdale regions fell dramatically from the year prior. Homes also lingered longer on the market. Pending sales fell 23 percent year-over-year in Miami, according to Redfin, which was the largest drop among the 50 most populous metro areas across the US. Meanwhile, some cash-strapped young homebuyers are skipping insurance altogether out of fear their homes will not pass inspection. 'Many homeowners are living on borrowed time and borrowed trust, we're seeing financial strain and home safety come head-to-head,' home insurance expert Kara Credle from Guardian Service previously told 'Homeownership is no longer the financial safe haven it used to be.'