While Stellantis Performed Below Its Potential, Li Auto Reported Strong And Record Numbers

On Thursday, both Stellantis STLA and Li Auto Inc LI issued their third quarter results and they told quite different tales. While Stellantis reported a disappointing performance, Li Auto topped estimates with record deliveries and strong financials, however, its stock fell nevertheless. 

Stellantis reported weak financials, but this was expected. 

 Considering that the trans-Atlantic automaker issued a profit warning back in September as it trimmed its annual guidance in response to the deteriorating global industry dynamics and needing to fix its performance in North America. Unfortunately, shipments fell in Europe as well with stringent quality requirements delaying the start of a few high-volume items.

Jeep, Dodge, Fiat, Chrysler and Peugeot owner said that net revenues for the September quarter came in at 33 billion euros, which is about $35.8 billion and largely below LSEG’s consensus estimate of 36.6 billion euros as it slumped 27%. However, Stellantis reaffirmed that it remains on track to deliver about 20 new models this year, adding that it was making good progress on slashing bloated inventories, especially in the U.S. 

CFO Doug Ostermann admitted that the quarterly performance was below the automaker’s potential but also emphasized that U.S. inventories had been meaningfully reduced and reaffirmed that targets will be hit. However, with progress resolving challenges Stellantis expects to soon benefit from its significantly expanded reach with the new product wave, from 2025 and beyond.

According to Cox Automotive, Stellantis has some of the highest inventories of vehicles on dealer lots out of all brands in the U.S. In addition, Stellantis escalated its long battle with the UAW with a lawsuit over strike threats. Like many of its peers, Stellantis has been struggling with a perfect storm of challenges on the EV road, including faltering global EV demand and severe competition from China.

Meanwhile, Li Auto’s financials reflected its emerging NEV leader position in China.

Having grown deliveries by as much as 45.4%, Li Auto also grew its revenues by 23.6% as they reached $6.1 billion. Its NEV market share grew to 17.3%.

CEO, Xiang Li also revealed that cumulative vehicle deliveries have surpassed 1 million units, which means that LI Auto achieved this milestone achieved faster than its NEV peers.

However, its outlook was not as shiny considering the delayed entry to Western Europe and North America, as the focus remains on the Middle East and Central Asia. Li Auto plans to continue advancing on the autonomous driving front, with significant enhancements on the three to five years horizon. 

The EV landscape continues to evolve

Also this week, Worksport Ltd. WKSP, an established innovative manufacturer of clean energy solutions for light trucks and the consumer goods sector, announced an upgrade of its solar-powered tonneau cover SOLIS. Worksport initated the alpha launch of its revolutionary off-grid power on the go duo, the SOLIS and the COR, a portable battery system back in September. Worksport now revealed that the SOLIS will be meaningfully improved to operate at 60V, which should result in substantial cost savings to the end- consumer of up to $400, while expand its addressable market size, and simplifying integration with a wider range of existing battery generator systems. Generating clean and portable power for both recreational and professional use, Worksport positioned itself in a rapidly growing market whose value surpasses $4 billion. Also in September, Worksport announced successful lab test results of its COR battery system as a Level 1 power source for Tesla Inc TSLA EVs. More precisely, the COR added approximately 7 miles of range to Tesla Model 3. By extending range, Worksport addressed a significant EV concern. Therefore, with Worksport’s intellectual portfolio, a moving clean energy microgrid made of pickup trucks powered by solar panels is no longer a dream but a preview of the EV era. 

This new era brings an entirely new set of rules so even one’s legacy isn’t enough of a resource for an automaker to get to shape a new reality that is in the making.

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