Friday, February 6th, was a bad day for Stellantis stockholders. The Amsterdam-based conglomerate that owns Dodge, Jeep, Chrysler, and Ram announced it had made a “write-down,” dropping its value by $26.5 billion USD (22.2 billion euros) after a lackluster 2025. With its stock already taking a hit, it also announced it would cancel its 2026 dividend for shareholders and that it is recalling nearly half a million Jeeps.

The historic Stellantis write-down

To be blunt, Stellantis’ huge write-down isn’t a huge surprise. Both General Motors and Ford made similar moves in early 2026. GM announced it expects its transition away from EVs to cost it $6 billion as it abandons expensive research and development projects and closes or retools factories. Ford announced a $19.5 billion charge, including $8.5 billion in asset write-downs for its Model E division. That said, Ford is forging ahead with its light-duty electric truck, betting that EVs, which are more cost-effective than internal combustion vehicles, can still find buyers somewhere in the world.

Considering the Tesla Model Y was once the world’s most popular car, and that China’s BYD will almost certainly surpass Toyota in sales by 2026, Ford may be making the smart move.

Stellantis is quick to say it bet big on EVs. But early this year, it pulled the plug on all its plug-in hybrids. It also cut its Ram EV, a huge project that’s been in development for years. It reintroduced V8 engines to multiple product lines and added an internal combustion variant of its Charger “e-muscle” car. The automaker is quick to blame its projected 19-21 billion euro net loss for the second half of 2025 on “slower-than-expected” EV demand. But there may be more to the story.

Stellantis stock may be tumbling for multiple reasons

Since Fiat Chrysler Automobiles merged with Stellantis N.V., the newly formed company yanked six of its most budget-friendly U.S. models. It also ceased engineering new and improved models. The result was predictably: artificially padded profits for two years, then consumers grew fed up and went elsewhere for cost-effective vehicles. Now sales are finally taking a nosedive. After the write-down, Stellantis’ stocks fell between 20% and 30% in European markets. We’ll have to wait and see how long the rebound takes.

In 2024, Stellantis investors enjoyed a dividend of 1.55 euros per share. In 2025, that fell to 0.68 euros. For 2026, there will be no dividend at all.

The long and short of it is that designing all-new electric powertrains is the most ambitious project the automotive industry has tackled in a century. And it’s an expensive one. But the explosion of China’s auto industry demonstrates that whatever U.S. drivers choose to drive, there’s a strong market for inexpensive EVs in every other country on Earth. If Detroit wants to remain competitive, it must invest and adapt.

Piling bad news on to worse news

Automakers may time recall announcements to minimize the impact on their stock prices. For example: If one high-profile recall hits the headlines, other automakers already investigating a safety issue may hop on the bandwagon and announce a recall within hours. So it’s not especially surprising that in a week when Stellantis’ stock prices were already struggling, it announced over 500,000 U.S. recalls. Here are the details.

First, Stellantis recalled 456,000 Ram trucks and Jeep SUVs for trailer lights and trailer brake wiring issues. This recall includes:

• 2024-26 Jeep Wagoneer S EVs
• 2026 Jeep Cherokee SUVs
• 2025-26 Ram 1500, 2500, 3500, 4500, and 5500 trucks

In addition, the automaker recalled 80,600 SUVs for rear springs that it warns could detach while driving.

• 2022-23 Jeep Grand Cherokee SUVs
• 2021-23 Jeep Grand Cherokee L SUVs