Stellantis Drops as Robotaxi Race Overtakes Major Automakers

The war over robotaxis has pushed the EV revolution past traditional automakers, as Stellantis is the latest to give up in the wake of Waymo and Tesla's rollouts.

The Latest Developments

• Stellantis shares fell last week after a €22.5 billion write-down amid EV sales that failed to meet projections.
• Big manufacturers acknowledged EV-related losses of $52.1 billion last quarter as Chinese and pure-play EV manufacturers gobble up market share.
• The push towards autonomy has favoured non-traditional manufacturers who are now turning back to their core ICE-based markets.

Stellantis Crashes Out of EV Race

Last week, the Franco-Italian carmaker and heir of one of the US "Big Three" automakers saw its share price score the worst single-day performance in history, falling 24%. The company disclosed a 22.5 billion euro write-down in the last half of 2025 when it released its preliminary results last Friday and announced it wouldn't pay a dividend. Stellantis said it would realign its EV product line-up to "better match demand", the latest company forced to rationalise production after EV sales did not meet forecasts. Previously, Ford announced a record $19.5 billion write-down over its EV assets. Stellantis's PSA unit (formerly Peugeot and Citroen) had among the strongest EV sales metrics of traditional manufacturers, and now analysts are worried that other brands might take similar measures, with Chinese models making inroads in the European market.

EV sales in Europe are still dominated by Volkswagen, which holds an 11% market share in its brand and owns three of the other top ten makers. Chinese firm BYD is fast gaining ground, with its sales almost tripling from last year as cash-strapped consumers turn to more affordable Chinese brands. Manufacturers in China and pure-EV firms like Tesla have a competitive advantage in building factories specifically for electric vehicles rather than retooling existing processes and models. The market was also affected by regulatory changes: the EU scrapped its target to go all-electric in ten years, while the Trump Administration rolled back fuel-economy standards that made owning internal-combustion engines more costly. Adding GM to Ford and Stellantis, the big automakers wrote off $52.1 billion in EV losses amid a slump in demand both in Europe and the US, as traditional automakers pivot back to internal combustion engines.

Automation Race Intensifies

EVs were seen as the backbone of the coming robotaxi revolution, with Tesla pushing for full autonomy in its production cars. However, the world's now second-largest EV maker (having been displaced by BYD) is behind in the push for autonomous cars, with Waymo's model having more coverage. Parent Alphabet said it would plough $16 billion into the company globally in a worldwide expansion bid and attempt to push aside Tesla. But both companies could face regulatory hurdles in the EU in particular, which has been particularly resistant to autonomous driving, one of the main selling points of EVs. Although Stellantis partnered with Uber last year to develop autonomous vehicles, they have yet to roll them out.

Meanwhile, companies using robotaxis are either Tesla or turning to Chinese EVs (Waymo is working with Geely's Zeeker unit). Amid the race for autonomous cars, big manufacturing firms are being left in the dust, but in Europe, major automakers seem to be resilient behind a moat of regulations, at least for the time being.

Stellantis Breakdown Forms Inside Bar

Stellantis’ decline last week brought the stock price outside the lower VWAP on the weekly chart, suggesting a potential breakout continuation while trading below $8.40 per share. The next support under the swing low of $7 lies at the $6 round level, which seems possible given the RSI has yet to reach oversold territory. However, if this week closes as an inside bar, a reversal could begin. As the short-term resistance sits around 50% of the red candle, only reclaiming that top could open the door back to $10, which coincides with the medium VWAP. Only sustaining that as support would expose higher levels.

Source: SpreadEx | Stellantis, Weekly Chart