Stellantis Sales Plummet, Seeking Fortune in Indonesia

KatadataOTO – Automotive company Stellantis is facing a number of challenges throughout 2024, starting with the departure of its CEO, Carlos Tavares, who was supposed to retire in 2026.

Meanwhile, its sales in the United States experienced a 15 percent decline from 1.52 million vehicle units in 2023 to 1.30 million last year.

Their flagship brands like Jeep also recorded a decline. Specifically, Jeep sales fell by 9 percent and Grand Cherokee by 12 percent.

Only one model achieved positive results, namely the Compass. It should be noted that the Compass was previously offered in the country by the distributor DAS Indonesia Motor for around Rp 800 million.

Photo : Stellantis

Other brands like Dodge and Ram also experienced a simultaneous decline. However, one brand, Fiat, actually experienced significant growth.

Still trying to recover in the US market, this year Stellantis seems to be starting to focus on the Indonesian market. Not only bringing Jeep to Indonesia, but there will also be a Stellantis Brand House for the brands under Stellantis in the future.

So far, only two Stellantis brands have been combined into one dealership, namely Citroen and Jeep. It is possible that many other brands will join to liven up the market.

Stellantis is also said to be confident in the domestic market, although 2025 is expected to be tough due to several challenges such as an increase in VAT (Value Added Tax) and surcharges on vehicle and transfer taxes in areas outside Jakarta.

Then, responding to the resignation of Stellantis' boss, Carlos Tavares, the Indomobil Group, appointed by Stellantis as the distributor, stated that the decision is not a negative thing.

“There will be no policy changes, they want to make many improvements. We always take the positive side,” said Tan Kim Piauw, CEO of Indomobil National Distributor in South Jakarta some time ago.

Photo : Leapmotor

He emphasized that Stellantis is still one of the large, profitable companies compared to several other automotive manufacturers.

“We are very optimistic. It can be seen that they (Stellantis) are always present among us to study the Indonesian market and support us,” asserted Tan Kim Piauw.

In the 2025 period, several brands under Stellantis are strongly believed to be hitting the roads in Indonesia. For example, Peugeot, which has already left and was once handled by PT Astra International, and then there is the Chinese electric car brand, Leapmotor.